Unilateral Hearing Loss , or UHL is hearing loss in one ear. Your child may have problem in detecting sounds from different directions or may face difficulty in understanding in noisy conditions.
To identify hearing loss in a child is difficult and detecting a unilateral hearing loss is even harder. Unilateral hearing loss is a condition in which a child has one normal ear and hearing loss in the other. The common problems faced by these children are:
Due involvement of only one ear in listening sounds, the localization abilities (detecting the direction of sound) of these children may be very poor. Your child may miss some important information as he may not able to detect from where it is coming. It is important for safety. On a street, your child may not be able to detect from where the horn is coming and it can be dangerous.
Problem in understanding speech in noisy places. It is easier to focus on speech with both ears.
Your child may not be able to hear from distance as sound seems softer when heard from only one ear.
Your child may show following behavioural problems when they are not able to hear properly:
Being upset on being not able to hear. They may show frequent tantrums and disinterested in listening activities.
They feel tired at the end of the day. This happens because they have to focus on speech all day.
It seem like they are not paying attention.
They seem to get confused if information is coming from different directions.
They sometimes answer the question wrong even after knowing the answer.
Turn the TV or radio "too loud" or prefers to hear phone through speakers rather than directly from phone.
Testing for UHL
Unilateral hearing loss can be detected at the time of birth through Neonatal Hearing Screening.
Any child with hearing loss should be seen by an ear, nose, and throat doctor, or ENT. The ENT will look in your child’s ears and check for fluid in the middle ear. The ENT may order special tests to find out why your child has UHL.
An audiologist can test your child’s hearing. This will include tests of his middle ear. The audiologist may do special hearing tests, if needed.
Your child may see a speech-language pathologist, or SLP. The SLP will test their speech and language. The local early intervention, or EI, program can see children under 3 years old. Your child may get services from the EI program. They can suggest activities you can do at home to help your child.
Treatment of UHL
The treatment of UHL depends on the severity and type of hearing loss. Following can be different treatment options according to the type of hearing loss:
Conductive Hearing Loss: Conductive hearing loss can occur if there is some obstruction in the ear due to wax or some foreign body. There can be some middle ear problems due to recurrent ear infections, regular nasal and throat infections or tonsillitis or adenoiditis. Treatment of conductive hearing loss varies from medical or surgical intervention to using hearing aids or bone conduction devices.
Sensori-neural hearing loss: Sensorineural hearing loss occurs due the defect in cochlea or auditory nerve that transfers the sound information to the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss are irreversible and cannot be treated medically or surgically . The child has to use some amplification device like hearing aids or cochlear implant depending on the severity of hearing loss.
The parents are advised not to ignore the complaints of your child and consult an audiologist for a hearing assessment.
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