“Does My Child Need Additional Hearing Tests?”

Ask-the-Experts-Dans-Wellness-Newsletter-September-2015Q:  My child failed a hearing screening at school.  What does that mean?

A:  School-based hearing screening provides pass/fail information on your child’s ability to hear.  If your child fails a screening, this means that further, more complete testing is needed.  See an audiologist certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for a comprehensive evaluation of your child’s hearing and middle-ear function.  An audiologist will use certain procedures to determine if your child has a hearing loss and, if so, the type and degree of the loss.  These procedures may include a pure-tone hearing test, speech audiometry and tests of middle-ear function.  Depending on the child’s age and/or ability to reliably respond to these tests, hearing sensitivity may be determined using tests that do not require the active participation of your child.  Based on the results, the audiologist will provide you with information regarding the impact that your child’s type and degree of hearing loss may have on his or her communication, learning and social skills.  The audiologist will provide you with recommendations for intervention and appropriate referrals.

Source:  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association