Children’s Hearing

Aston Hearing has always prided itself on providing ear and hearing advice and support for the whole family.

Our Early Ears!

It is recognised that a baby in the womb has a fully developed auditory sense around the 7th month of pregnancy.  From this early stage the baby’s development in the womb is rapid and although the auditory input in the womb is muffled due to the amniotic fluid, the sounds are starting to help form the baby’s awareness of the auditory connection between themselves and their mother.  As with all areas of baby development it is difficult not to be awe struck by the complexity of the auditory system.  From the neural connection along the baby’s back starting to form by week six of pregnancy – an essential structure for the development of a baby’s eyes and ears to the 4th month of pregnancy, where a baby’s external ears are fully formed.  The 5th month is when a baby starts to be sensitive to sound.  Perhaps it is here where we should start to recognise the delicate yet complex nature of the auditory system, and affording it a level of respect that should follow us through our lives.

Children’s Hearing Services

At Aston Hearing we offer a range of Children’s Hearing Services to help provide parents, families and guardian’s qualified hearing information to help them to keep a track of their child’s hearing ability.  In order to ensure best results we conduct all of our Children’s Hearing Services from our Amersham practice, Flint Barn Court.   Flint Barn Court is a comfortable, non-clinical, child friendly environment.  Our experienced audiologist, Paula Cook uses a series of assessments to suit children of all ages from 10 month of age upwards.

Paula recognises the importance of providing parents with the knowledge and information they need to understand their child’s hearing.

As a practice, we strongly believe in pro-active action with regard to children’s hearing problems.  The most common hearing concern with children is a temporary conductive issue commonly known as Glue Ear (Otitis Media).  Keeping a child hearing well is important for early brain development.  If hearing, at this critical stage of development is impaired, even for short periods,  it can lead to future listening and learning challenges at school and possible speech and attention difficulties long after the hearing is returned to normal levels.   The good news is though with careful management and awareness the effects can be significantly minimised.

We work closely with GP’s, hospital ENT and audiology departments in referring and signposting children for onward diagnostic assessment if they present with signs of potential hearing concern.

Educational Support

We can also work with parents, schools and special educational teachers to improve communication tactics during periods of poor hearing; this can include the loan of listening devices and tailored advice to help the child in the classroom situation during periods of reduced hearing.  In certain cases we are able to offer a diagnosis service for Educational purposes.  We require a special form (Under 19s Hearing Assessment Form) to be completed by the educational institution and returned to us prior to the consultation.

Protecting Young Ears and Hearing

Many children regularly suffer with ear infections, this can be miserable, painful and disruptive and lead to longer term issues in the future.   If your child is prone to ear infections.  It is good practice to avoid getting the ears wet, particularly when swimming, as this is a typical way for ears to become infected.  We provide and encourage the use of swim plugs to cut down on the number of ear infections the child suffers with, whilst keeping them swimming at a time when swimming is an important life skill to master.

We also offer advice on noise and ear protection, particularly critical for teenagers and young adults who are exposing their hearing to extensive MP3 use, live music and especially playing instruments such as electric guitars and drums. In addition to ear protection we can supply custom-made ear phones for MP3 use. A pair of good-fitting earphones allow the loudness levels to be set much lower, as no sound is able to escape, whilst providing greater comfort.

CHILDREN’S HEARING

Does your Child need a Hearing Assessment

CHILDREN’S HEARING

Causes of Hearing Loss in Children

CHILDREN’S HEARING

The Aston Hearing Child Hearing Assessment

CHILDREN’S HEARING

Equipment used in our Child Hearing Tests