Your Child’s Hearing Needs
Children can be very good at compensating for hearing issues. Outer or middle ear issues (such as ear infections or middle ear effusion, commonly known as glue ear) are very common in children and can cause a temporary hearing loss which may affect speech and language development, behaviour and academic performance. A hearing loss can present not just as difficulty hearing but as concentration and behavioural issues, or difficulty with speech and language development such as poor pronunciation.
Routine hearing assessments are carried out at birth to identify hearing loss but routine tests later can pick up on hearing problems that go undiagnosed for years or months having an impact on your child’s development.
At Hearsmart we can assess your child’s hearing from as young as nine months old using age-appropriate testing techniques, including hearing testing and an objective measure of middle ear function (tympanometry). Hearsmart is an independent audiology clinic located in Lilydale and our paediatric audiologists Crystal and Julie specialise in children’s hearing assessments.
Paediatric hearing tests are non-invasive and are fun, the appointment usually lasts approximately an hour but can be shorter than this.
How it works:
In children between 9 months and 3 years the test is behaviour based and the clinician uses visual reinforcement audiometry where your child sits on your knee and the sound is linked to a visual clue for example associating the sound to a visual picture or light on a screen.
In children 3 to 5 years old the assessment uses play based audiometry where your child would be asked to perform a simple task when they hear a sound, for example move a toy.
In older children aged 5 plus a pure tone audiometry is used that is similar to an adult’s hearing assessment.
If you have concerns regarding your child’s hearing, listening behaviour, ear health or speech and language development, you can book in for a hearing assessment today. No referral is required, but with a GP or ENT referral you can claim a portion of the cost back from Medicare.
Book a hearing test today either by calling us on 1300 787 792 or pop in and visit us in person at 321 Main Street, Lilydale or email us at admin@hearsmart.com.au