Hearing Problems in Babies

Some babies are born with hearing problems, while others experience them in their infancy. This can cause stress for parents who want their babies to be healthy and successful as they grow into childhood.

Types

• Sensorineural hearing loss, or deafness, means there is a problem with the inner ear. It tends to exist from birth and is untreatable. Meanwhile, ear infections can cause conductive hearing loss, which means something is interfering with the transmission of sound, but the inner ear is intact. This is usually treatable.

Testing

• Hospitals issue hearing screenings for babies before they leave the hospital, but babies born outside of hospitals or those who develop hearing problems later need doctors' appointments for testing. Kids Health recommends screening before babies turn three months to catch problems early.

Symptoms

• Three-month-olds with good hearing should awake or startle at loud noises, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. By six months, they should move their head toward a noise and repeat sounds.

Deafness

• Babies with profound deafness can use a hearing aid or cochlear implant to learn to speak. Another option is sign language, which gives babies a chance to develop a language that naturally suits them and will enable them to succeed in life.