Children are able to hear sounds the moment they are born into the world. Doctors estimate that nearly 2 or 3 children out of every 1,000 in the United States are born deaf or hard of hearing. A larger number of children lose their hearing capabilities later on in childhood. Most doctors recommend that babies have a hearing screening before they are one month old. It is important to have children with hearing problems use hearing devices before the age of six months. This is because children begin to learn speech and language before they being to talk.

Signs of Hearing Loss

Parents with relatively young children can spot possible hearing loss in their children by asking themselves a couple of questions for different age groups. From birth to four months of age parents should look for babies affected by loud noises, people talking, turning the head towards a sound and the ability to recognize the mother’s voice. If a baby responds positively to all of these situations they do not have hearing problems. For babies age four to eight months parents should look for these reactions:

-The baby enjoys the sound of bells, whistles or toys that squeak.
-The baby turns his or her head when their name is called.
-The pitch of the baby’s voice goes up or down in pitch when babbling.
-A baby’s babbling includes four different sounds.

If all of these examples mentioned above are evident in a child then he or she does not have any hearing problems. For babies aged eight to twelve months parents should look for an enjoyment of music for their child and the ability of the child to understand what the word no means.

Getting Help

Getting help for a young child that possibly has hearing loss is extremely easy to do. If a child does not display any of the signs above, which are positive signs for developing language and hearing, and then the parents should take the child to a doctor for physical examination. The doctor will be able to ascertain what is wrong with the child and their hearing development. The doctor can perform tests such as an auditory brainstem response test and tests with an audiometer.

Causes of Hearing Loss in Children

There are a variety of different ways children can develop hearing loss at a young age. Those ways are hereditary conditions that cause the inner ear to develop abnormally, some genetic disorders such as osteogenesis imperfecta and Trisomy 13S, exposure to disease while in utero, rubella (German measles) is one of the diseases that can affect the developing ears of the fetus, loud noises such as firecrackers, rock concerts or personal stereos, injuries, such as concussion or skull fracture, certain diseases, such as meningitis and mumps.

Treatment

Treatment includes but is not limited to:
-Antibiotics for otitis media.
-Removal of the foreign object or wax plug.
-Hearing aids to amplify sounds.
-A cochlear implant may be considered in the case of severe or profound hearing loss.
-Vibrotactile aids, which translate sound into vibrations felt through the skin.
-Speech therapy.
-Assistance from a teacher of the deaf to help the child make the most of their residual hearing.

Hearing loss can happen to anyone at any age of life but is most common in elderly people. Most hearing loss cases arise from old age and the condition is known as presbycusis. People that live in noisy environments will usually lose their hearing or develop hearing problem quicker than people that live in quiet environments. All of these factors plus diet, genetics, drugs and different chemicals can help lead to hearing loss.

Elderly Hearing Loss

Elderly people begin to see some signs of hearing loss as their age continues to climb. It comes naturally with the process of aging. At some point during a person’s life, if they live long enough, will experience some form of hearing loss. It is inevitable. The majority of elderly people suffering from some type of hearing loss experience problems with understanding speech more so than hearing it. This is because elderly people lose hearing capabilities in the high-frequency range, which helps them understand speech more than hear it.

Hearing Aids

Many elderly people require the use of hearing aids as they increase in age. Hearing aids are used in the ear(s) and help to magnify the sounds around the person using them. In turn, hearing aids make it easier for people to understand speech, hear the television or radio and hear sounds they might not have heard in quite a long time. Hearing aids are available in a variety of types and strengths. For people with the onset of hearing loss, a low powered hearing aid is the best option but for people with chronic hearing loss will need a higher powered hearing aid.

People that don’t employ the use of hearing ads usually cope with their hearing loss in their own unique way. Most elderly people will crank up the volume on the television to be able to hear the dialogue taking place and do the same with the radio while in the car. It becomes increasingly difficult for people with hearing loss to decipher the sounds coming from the voices of women and children as well.

Hearing Loss Statistics

Statistics showing hearing loss at an older age are staggering. One quarter of the people aged 65 and older have some form of hearing loss. Half of people over the age of 75 have hearing loss. Four out of every five people over the age of 85 years old have hearing loss. The hearing loss problems in the world have started to become an epidemic because of the environment we live in today. Everything is noisy; the movie theater, ballgames, music, television, construction sites, airports and freeways.

Hearing loss cannot be completely prevented since its main cause it old age, but it can be prevented in younger people by avoiding excessively loud situations or listening to music with headphones in at a loud decibel.

Effects of Hearing Loss in the Elderly

Hearing loss in the elderly that goes untreated can become quite bothersome and troublesome altogether. People that do not use hearing aids or have surgery to improve their hearing can develop a dislike for large settings in a group because they are hard of hearing and do not want to be put on the spot in the middle of conversations that they are having trouble understanding. Untreated hearing problems can also lead to family members having to scream while speaking with the person that cannot hear. Quality of life for people with untreated hearing problems decreases quickly and can be avoided if the problem is examined and treated by a doctor or audiologist.