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Children's Hearing

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Hello,

My six-year-old nephew quite often says “what”, when we talk to him. He also struggles to hear in the noise. I was quite worried he might have hearing loss.

Today, his parents had his hearing assessed and the result was excellent. This is great news but the question is, why does he struggle to hear?

He’s attention-deficient and hyperactive.

I’m attaching his hearing assessment for reference.

Yousef's audiogram 11

Yousef's audiogram 22

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@Zeeza said:

why does he struggle to hear?

He’s attention-deficient and hyperactive.

That’s why.

They could seek auditory processing assessment, but sometimes managing the ADHD makes the auditory issues disappear. In some places they won’t do CAP testing if there is ADHD and in others they will. In some they will do it if the ADHD is controlled. Research shows benefits from systems in the classroom for ADHD kids, but you typically have to jump through the CAP hoops to get it put into place, if that’s something that the educational board will accept. In some places it is and in others it isn’t.

In reply to @user490

@user490 said:

Has he had an ABR?

What is it? He had a hearing screening when he was born.

@OcramSagev, Thank you so much! That makes a lot of sense.

@Neville said:

CAP testing

Hmm, I’m afraid I don’t know what it is!

It feels like there’s a big gap. His parents took him to a specialist before, they didn’t tell them there was a link between his attention deficit and lack of hearing. They were told that he was still young and they didn’t have to worry!

In reply to @Zeeza

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)1

There are a number of ways to identify a hearing loss. Each test is used for different people and reasons.

Newborn screening can vary with location and when the baby was born. As that article mentions even if an is done it may be limited. An abnormal ABR does not mean one cannot hear at all and hearing does not mean an ABR would be normal. It’s a sensitive test and is not always done correctly.

If you can find out more about the testing done so far, that might help folks make suggestions.

There is a difference between hearing (sound making it to the brain in appropriate ways) and listening/understanding, which requires hearing but also requires your brain to be paying attention and successfully translating the sound into meaning. My teen son thought he was having trouble hearing, but also passed the hearing tests with great results - he hears just fine when he’s paying attention.

Thank you for your insightful comments! That makes a lot of sense!

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