Please talk to me about mild hearing loss in toddlers.

[KitKat1985]

Hi all. DD1 is 3 in September. She has had several ear infections in her life (mainly in her left ear) including a really severe one a few months ago (it was so bad, there was literally pus dripping out of her ear, and her eardrum was perforated). Over the past year I had become increasingly concerned about her speech delay as she was notably behind her peers in her language skills, despite being fine in all other areas. Nursery also raised concerns a few months ago about her language skills. We spoke to a toddler speech lady who said it may be worth speaking to GP about getting her hearing checked, especially since she has had several ear infections. At my request therefore the GP made the referral. It took a while to get to see the audiologist & ENT consultant, but we saw them yesterday and they have confirmed that she has some hearing loss in her left ear as her tubes in her ear are congested etc. At the moment they want to leave it 4 months to see if it improves on it's own, so we're just in a 'wait and see' phase at the moment. Has anyone had some experiences with mild hearing loss in toddlers? If so, do you have any thoughts or advice you would be willing to share with me? TIA.

One thing that might be proposed, depending on how the watch and wait period goes, is grommets in her ears. Just wanted to reassure you if this is the case - although it requires a general anaesthetic to insert them, it's a really quick and straightforward procedure. With my DD they relieved the congestion straight away, and her speech started picking up quickly (she was only 2 at the time and her speech was starting from a low base).

Best of luck, well done for sorting the referral.

Hi very similar situation, except we're about a year down the line. My DD was around 2/2.5 when we went down the ENT/ audiology route. She has been diagnosed with glue ear and mild-moderate hearing loss.

She has very small ear canals and so grommets wasn't considered to be appropriate. She has bilateral hearing aids which she tolerates really well. Speech is catching up now but still behind at 3 and a bit years old. Does have a knock on effect. Her development is a bit behind and very slow potty training.

It's hard but we see a speech therapist, have audiology involved and see a specialist teacher for the hearing impaired. It's a waiting game. Good luck with your DD

I forgot to add that my DD also had some speech therapy once grommets were in. The ENT didn't suggest it, but agreed it was worth it, so I self referred to a local assessment clinic. It was helpful.

Hi. Thank you for your replies. Yes I did wonder if they would suggest grommets / hearing aids for her if her hearing didn't improve on it's own in the next few months. In the meantime I've spoken to her nursery so they are aware of the issue, and hopefully will make sure she can hear in group activities etc. My main concern is that her speech development is still quite behind her peers, and I don't want her to get much further behind.