Pediatric hearing loss can have a profound effect on childhood development. Hearing loss may impact a child’s ability to acquire language, produce speech sounds, and communicate effectively. Whether congenital or acquired, hearing loss requires specialized attention to ensure that children have access to the auditory information necessary for language acquisition and social interaction.

Congenital Hearing Loss:

Some children are born with hearing loss, which may be due to genetic factors, prenatal exposure to infections, or other congenital conditions.

Acquired Hearing Loss:

Hearing loss can also occur after birth due to factors such as ear infections, head trauma, exposure to loud noises, or certain medical treatments.

Degrees of Hearing Loss:

Hearing loss can range from mild to profound, impacting different aspects of communication and language development.

Vocabulary: Children with hearing loss may not learn words as fast as those with normal hearing. They may quickly learn concrete words like cat, jump, five, and red. However, they may struggle with abstract words like “before, equal to, and shy.” They may also have difficulty understanding multiple-meaning words, such as “bat.”

Sentences and Grammar: Children with hearing loss may have trouble understanding and using sentences. They may use shorter sentences than children with normal hearing, and have difficulty using words such as “a, an, the.” They may have difficulty understanding longer, complex sentences. These children often have difficulty using word endings (-s, ed), using past-tense verbs, using plurals, and using possessives (Bob’s cat).

Speech: Children with hearing loss may have difficulty hearing sounds clearly, which can result in articulation deficits. Children with hearing loss often distort or omit sounds such as /s, sh, f, t, or k/. They may also have difficulty using an appropriate volume when speaking or may speak in a high pitch.

Social Skills: Children with hearing loss may have difficulty maintaining eye contact during conversations, using appropriate greetings, taking turns during a conversation, awareness of others’ feelings, using appropriate body language, and responding to questions in a conversation.

At Garden State Speech Therapy, our approach to assessing pediatric hearing loss is thorough and tailored to the individual needs of each child. Our assessment process includes:

1. Collaboration with Audiologists

A comprehensive audiological assessment is imperative to determine the degree and type of hearing loss. This may include pure-tone testing, speech audiometry, and tympanometry. We work hand-in-hand with your child’s audiologist throughout the evaluation and treatment process.

Why is collaboration with your child’s audiologist important?

Audiologists and speech pathologists have different roles, but they often collaborate for the benefit of the patient. An audiologist focuses on diagnosing hearing impairment and providing access to sound and assistive listening devices. A speech therapist focuses on implementing auditory-cognitive training to improve communication. Together, an audiologist and speech therapist will provide counseling, set expectations, identify communication strategies and be advocates for their clients. Speech pathologists and audiologists work together to help SLP patients with hearing impairments improve communication success and hearing-related quality of life. They’ll work with patients and their families to understand communication goals, identify challenges, develop action plans and create strategies to put those plans into action. Collaboration between audiologists and speech pathologists is common and instrumental in helping patients improve communication (ASHA).

2. Speech and Language Assessment:

We assess the child's current speech and language abilities through both standardized and informal measures, considering any impact the hearing loss may have on their speech, language, literacy, or social skills.

3. Cochlear Implant Mapping:

For children with cochlear implants, we work closely with audiologists to ensure optimal mapping and functioning of the device.

4. Functional Listening Evaluation:

Functional listening evaluations are performed to understand how well a child can use their residual hearing or assistive devices in everyday communication situations.

5. Parental Input and Case History:

Valuable insights from parents regarding the child's developmental history, family dynamics, and communication experiences at home are integral to our assessment process.

Aural rehabilitation and auditory training are crucial components of our therapeutic approach for children with hearing loss. These interventions are designed to maximize the child's use of their residual hearing or assistive devices and promote optimal language development. Our strategies include:

1. Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation:

For children with cochlear implants, our therapists collaborate with audiologists to facilitate effective cochlear implant use. We focus on auditory training and speech perception to optimize language outcomes.

2. Auditory Discrimination Training:

Activities designed to enhance auditory discrimination skills are incorporated into therapy sessions. This helps children distinguish between different speech sounds and improve their overall listening abilities.

3. Speech and Language Development:

Our therapists work on building speech and language skills, considering the impact of hearing loss on phonological development, vocabulary acquisition, and grammatical structure.

4. Parent Coaching:

We believe in empowering parents to actively participate in their child's communication development. Parent coaching sessions provide strategies for facilitating language growth at home and fostering effective communication.