How do they do a hearing test on a toddler?

[Trapordo]

DS is 2.5 with suspected ASD. GP has today agreed to refer for a full hearing check after Mumsnet advised me to ask for one. I wasn't aware a simple clap check from the GP wasn't enough!

Anyway, I've been looking on NHS online and it says how it's generally done for toddlers and young children. However, my DC doesn't communicate really so nor sure how this would even work?

If they can't do it that way, would they then do the 'baby' way?

Thank you so much

My dd had a hospital hearing test at 2 and it was fascinating. One person played with her and they played a range of sounds from machines on either side of the room. They lit up when she looks towards them. They also had some kind of headphones on to test something else but I can’t remember what that was for. I was worried that dd would be too scared to participate (she’s adopted and fearful) but she really enjoyed it.

Dd wasn’t communicating at the time other than signing with me

Zogs Thank you! From what I can tell online they often look for a slight move in eyes to suggest they heard the sound.

Can I ask how long it took to get an appointment?

My DS is profoundly deaf in one ear and is 2.5.
When we go they do a behavourial test where they sit on a chair and have headphones in, they play a sound and when they turn their head to the sound a toy in a glass box dances and interacts. The next test after this when they turn 3/4 they use a boat that when DS hears a noise he puts the toy in the boat.
DS goes every 3-6 months. They will probably hold a little gun type tester in there ear to measure for glue ear. Our audiologist and community audiologist is amazing!

I think it took about 6 weeks from memory. Please try not to worry. They were so kind and gentle and praised the slightest look or eye movements towards the sounds. One person was behind a two way mirror so could study dds reaction whilst the other played with her.

My DD has autism and is non verbal. She had a hearing test at around the same age as your child. They did it by having very captivating mechanical toys scattered around the room which make a noise and then move. If the child turns to look in the right direction when they hear the noise (like Pavlovs dog) then they know they can hear it. This was about 18 years ago but I suspect the process isn’t too different today!

My son was almost three when he first had a hearing test. My son and I sat in a sound booth and the audiologist/assistant sat next door, and they could watch him from behind a mirror. He had to watch a PC monitor, and when he heard a noise he had to press a button. When he pressed the button he was shown a picture of a cartoon character as a reward. They did try to do a test while holding a sensor on the side of his head (behind his ear) but he totally refused to do this. They also wanted to look inside his ear. They said that even without the sensor results they could tell he had glue ear.
I found the whole thing quite fascinating.

It is all play based. There will be attention grabbing things to look at everything a child hears a sound and then it's a bit like Pavlov's dog. It's an enjoyable and not stressful experience.

My ds was 3 when he had his hearing test and they used headphones and wooden peg people which he had to put into a boat. Very play based and fun. He was very hard of hearing it turned out.

My DS had a hearing test around this age (he too had suspected ASD at the time, now confirmed).

The test they tried involved a toy piggy bank, and he was expected to put a coin in the pig every time he heard a sound from the audiologists hand held machine.

He couldn't follow the instructions, so they gave up, and asked him to come back in 6 months. They also did a glue ear test which involved putting a wire in his ear

When we went back same thing happened, so they invited him back AGAIN but this time they did the test they use for babies, which involved a screen at either side of the room with a visual that appears at the same sound as the sound, and they wait for the child to turn their head left or right, depending on the direction of the sound.

He passed this test, but they kept inviting him back, in the hope that he would be able to complete the original test with the piggy bank, because they said it was a better test (could test for a bigger range of sounds or something?).

He never did pass the piggy bank test because he couldn't concentrate for long enough, and they eventually discharged him when he was 4.5. He then failed the school hearing test (for the same reason!) so he got referred back...

Needless to say there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his hearing, but he has clear attention and understanding difficulties which were the biggest barrier, and I found the whole test thing v frustrating (as did the audiologists I'm sure!).

I was impressed with ours, all play based and tailored to are and child response. A second person behind a one way mirror operating video clips.

The short answer is with great difficulty.

Ds is 3 with sever gdd. We know he's moderately deaf from the newborn screening but they want a more up to date result. To this date they can't get one.

The method is child sits in the middle of the room, speakers either side. TV and toys in light up boxes that you can only see when lit up. If the child turns to the noise they get rewarded with seeing the toy or video. Sounds are played at various levels to see if the guild turns to them.

If that doesn't work they try playing a drum or making other noises behind the child to see if the react/turn.

If that doesn't work they put the child under a mild anaesthetic and use the same technology they use when they are babies by checking brain waves.

Thanks so much for the replies

The test they tried involved a toy piggy bank, and he was expected to put a coin in the pig every time he heard a sound from the audiologists hand held machine.

Well we are buggered then. DS doesn't do interactive play of any form. He just won't engage. With anyone. He just stacks stuff

If that doesn't work they put the child under a mild anaesthetic and use the same technology they use when they are babies by checking brain waves

Why don't they just do this in the first instance? Surely there's less room for error that way by just seeing brain waves, than by messing around with a child and hoping they'll play along?

I get what you mean. It's actually just the same test they do to babies, ds had it done a few times when he was a baby, but once they are older they don't sleep deeply enough, so they need to put them under. But they need to arrange an anethatist and special room and probably a bed on the ward for the child to come round. So they just use it as a last resort. We've actually been waiting for my ds to be put to sleep to have a hearing test done for ages but it keeps getting put off for various reasons.

My ds has no interest in the toys or videos either. He also reacts to the sound the first time then just ignores it. So you can't tell if he can't hear or is just ignoring it.