CHILDHOOD PROBLEMS

Wahat should I do if my child pushes something into his ear?

The first thing you should do is resist the temptation to try to remove the object yourself. If you do,
you may well push the item farther into the ear, and damage the eardrum. Instead, see your doctor,
who will remove the object with a special spoon-shaped instrument or small forceps designed just for
such situations.

Why are children so prone to ear infections?

A child’s eustachian tube, the link between the back of the nose and the middle ear, is not only shorter
and wider than an adult’s but is also positioned at less of an angel. This makes it easier for infections
to spread from the nose to the middle ear. A cold, flu or allergy can thus reach and inflame the middle
ear with relative ease, possibly blocking the eustachian tube and causing fluid to build up. About two-
thirds of all preschool children have at least one infected-ear episode; more than one-third will have
three or more episodes.

How long should I wait before calling the doctor if my child has an earache?

If there is no fever, you can wait a couple of days, but if your child also has a temperature, call you
doctor at once. It is also important to call the doctor if the earache is accompanied by dizziness, facial
paralysis or diarrhoea

Our little boy has constant euraches, and the doctor want to insert a tube into his ear to drain it. Is
this a helpful procedure?

If you child’s earaches are caused by fluid build-up in his middle ear. The doctor may try to relieve the
problem by cutting a small slit in the eardrum the procedure is called a myringotomy, after the medical
term for the eardrum and inserting a temporary tube to connect the middle ear to the outher ear
canal, and allow air to enter and dry out the moddle ear. (The slit in the eardrum heals over once the
tube is removed.) sometimes the operation works well, but there are times when the tube doesn’t
drain properly or falls out prematurely. In addition, some specialists belive that such tubes lead to
thickening of the eardrum. This is a metter for you and your doctor to discuss.

HOW TO RECOGNISE HEARING PROBLEMS IN YOUR CHILD

For the first six months after birth the best way monitor yuur child’s heraing is to note his
reaction to sounds. A newborn will be startled by loud noises, while the sounds of people
speaking in normal tones should have a soothing effect. A three- to six-month-old baby, on the
orther hand, should begin looking around to locate the source of noises; it will, for instance,
turn towards a voice.

All infacts-even deaf ones-babble. At about six months, however, a totally deaf child will stop
babbling while normal children will continue until words begin to formed. At 18 months a
normal child should be able to point to parts of his body when asked to do so, and at two years
he should be following simple commands. At three years he ought to be using some verbs and
pronouns, and at five years he should be able to crry on uncomplicated conversations. If your
child diverges in any significant manner from this pattern, he may have some degree of hearing
loss. If you think this is the case, see your doctor immediately. A hearing-impaired child should
be examined and start special training as soon as possible.
My son has large, protruding ears. Is there anything that can be done about them?

A minor operation on the skin at the back of the ears should take care of your son’s problem. It will
probably be carried out after he is five years old. A strip of skin is removed and the incision sewn
together; a fold in the skin will almost totally hide the scar. The operation is usually performed by a
plastic surgeon or an ear specialist, but your son should see the latter first for consultation.

Why are some babies born with a hearing loss?

the cause may be genetic (see p.309), or it may involve a nongenetic factor-for example, the child’s
mother may have had rubella, or German measles, during her pregnancy (see p.522). it was once
thought that hearing would be demaged only if the mother had German measles during the first three
months of pregnancy, but recent research indicates that the foctus may still be vulnerable later Blood
type incompatibility can also jeopardise a child’s hearing. An Rh-negative mother should discuss this
problem with her obstetrician if in previous pregnancies she carried an Rh-positive foctus (see p.538).
There is also the possibility that premature birth and birth trauma can produce a loss of hearing. Babies
in these categories are 14 times more likely to have hearing loss.

My neighbour tells me that her daughter is prelingually deaf. What does this mean?

Any baby born with hearing loss or who becomes hearing-impaired before learning to speak is called
prelingually deaf. One baby in about a thousand is either born deaf or loses its hearing in the first years
of its life. Heraing loss in very young children may be the result of a viral infection such as mumps or
measles; even the flu can infect a child’s inner ear and destroy nerve cells essential to hearing in the
cochlea. A neglected case of middle ear infection, or otitis media (seep.304), can also cause damage
to a child’s hearing capabilities.

How soon can a doctor tell if a child is deaf?

By applying special tests, a doctor can tell almost from birth whether or not a baby has a hearing
defect. As a child grows, other tests can be performed; by the age of four months a baby should
respond to the human voice, and by eight months it should react to sounds coming from various
directions. If you detect a lack of response in your child, report it to your doctor at once.

Our boy was diagnosed as being almost totally deaf. But now, aged two, he seems to be responding
to noises. Should we have him retested?

Yes, of course. Testing a child’s hearing is a tricky business. During the first test, your son may have
been in an uncooperative mood; he moght even have been responding to your own apprehensions. A
second test makes good sense.

Our son, who is one year old,was diagnosed at birth as having a substantial hearing loss. How can
we help him?

Perhaps the single most important factor in the growth and development of a deaf child is the attitude
of the parents. Hearing-impaires children live in a completely isolated world, unaware even that
sounds exist. A hearing baby will gurgle to it self and eventually turn such sound into speech; a deaf
child begins by gurgling but, hearing nothing, soon stops. The parents of such a child must have grat
patience and learn a whole new approach to communication. Many organisations offer assistance,
both locally and nationally. The National Acoustic Laboratories or the Deaf Society in your capital city
if you live in Australia, or the Hearing Association i New Zealand, can guide you to such organisations.
Our daughter is only one year old, but we have been advised to get her a hearing aid. Isn’t this a
little early?

Not really. Experts believe thet it is vital for children to learn to connect sounds with the environment,
and hence they urge that children be fitted with hearing aids as soon as hearing loss is diagnosed. If
there is any residual hearing, then the aid will from an all important bridge with the outside world.
Furthermore, your daughter will grow accustomed to wearing a hearing aid.

Another device something recomended is a baby buzzer, a vibrator that enables a profoundly deaf
child to fell sounds. The device consists of a patch worn over the breastbone and a microphone and
electronic circuitry connected to the patch. The rhythm and intensity of sounds are picked up by the
microphone and translated intp vibrations the child can feel. Considerable research has been done on
the devices, and the results havw been highly encouraging. They can provide a deaf child with a sense
of environmental sounds, such as the ringing of a telephone or the reverberations of a car engine. The
devices have also proved to be valuable aids in teaching deaf children to enunciate sounds.

Our child is pratially heraing-impaired. Should we, her parents, consider going to a speech therapist
too?

Yes, it might be a good idea. The starin on parents with a heraing-impaired child is graet; anything that
makes it easier for you to communicate is advisable.