Children’s hearing assessments are carried out by our Audiology teams at both Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and at Wye Valley NHS Trust in Herefordshire. These teams are experienced in accurately measuring children’s hearing and supporting families with any management that may be needed.
If you are worried about your child’s hearing, then please contact any of the following professionals. They will be able to advise you and refer you on to the Audiology services as needed.
- Health Visitor
- GP (Family Doctor)
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Paediatrician
For children under 11 years of age you can also speak to your child’s teacher or school nurse.
Common signs of hearing difficulties in a child are:
- Does not respond when called.
- Constantly says "what?" or asks for speech to be repeated.
- Watches faces/lips intently.
- Does not always follow instructions straight away.
- Often misunderstands or ignores instructions.
- Makes little or no contribution to group activities or discussions.
- Watches what others are doing before doing it themselves.
- Complains about not being able to hear.
- They need the TV louder in order to follow the programme.
- Tires easily and has poor concentration.
- Shows signs of ear discomfort such as pulling on their ears.
- Talks louder or softer than expected.
- Their speech may be unclear.
- Becomes easily frustrated.
- Seems startled when people come into their line of vision.
- Appears inattentive or as though daydreaming.
- Poor balance or clumsiness not associated with a known underlying condition.
If you are spotting any of these signs, please discuss these with any of the following professionals:
- Health Visitor
- GP (Family Doctor)
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Paediatrician
For children under 11 years of age you can also speak to your child’s teacher or school nurse.
If your child is already under the care of Audiology or ENT please speak to them in the first instance.
Whilst you wait you can check out the Hear Glue Ear app. The app provides useful information and resources for parents and guardians, including a basic hearing check. The app is free and is available from the Apple App Store or Google Play. The app also helps children to develop auditory skills through specially designed songs, games, and audiobooks.
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Diagnosing and managing hearing difficulties as early as possible is critical to making sure that children reach their potential. Undiagnosed hearing loss can impact speech and language development, learning skill development, reading, communicating and socialising. It is important that the signs of hearing difficulties are spotted early so that children can benefit from the right management as soon as possible.
Common signs of hearing difficulties in a child are:
- Does not respond when called.
- Constantly says "what?" or asks for speech to be repeated.
- Watches faces/lips intently.
- Does not always follow instructions straight away.
- Often misunderstands or ignores instructions.
- Makes little or no contribution to group activities or discussions.
- Watches what others are doing before doing it themselves.
- Complains about not being able to hear.
- They need the TV louder in order to follow the programme.
- Tires easily and has poor concentration.
- Shows signs of ear discomfort such as pulling on their ears.
- Talks louder or softer than expected.
- Signs of speech and language delay.
- Becomes easily frustrated.
- Seems startled when people come into their line of vision.
- Appears inattentive or as though daydreaming.
- Poor balance or clumsiness not associated with a known underlying condition.
If you are observing any of these signs, please discuss these with the child’s family or carer(s) in the first instance.
If the child is already under the care of Audiology, ENT, Speech and language or has recently been referred to the umbrella pathway, you do not need to make a referral but make the family aware of what you have noticed and ask them to feedback to Audiology and/or ENT.
You can then work with the child’s family / carer(s) to agree next steps. These might include:
1. Agree to monitor signs and discuss again in approximately 8 weeks. Some hearing loss is temporary and will clear on its own, e.g. glue ear. Causes of glue ear | Information about glue ear (ndcs.org.uk) has more information about clear glue.
2. Families can be directed to the Hear Glue Ear app. The app provides useful information and resources for parents and guardians, including a basic hearing check. The app is free and is available from the Apple App Store or Google Play. The app also helps children to develop auditory skills through specially designed songs, games, and audiobooks.
Look for this logo
3. If the signs are sudden or associated with other ear symptoms such as pain or discharge coming from the ear, please direct the family to their GP.
4. If the signs persist for longer than 8-12 weeks and are not associated with ear symptoms or other behavioural / developmental issues, please discuss a referral to Paediatric Audiology with the child’s family or carer(s). If the family are happy to proceed, please complete the referral form. To avoid any delay, please ensure that you complete all the sections on the form. Please note that we will report the findings of our assessment to the child’s GP and family/carer directly.
REFERRAL FORM COMING SOON!
