Nobody wants their child to live with a disability, especially when it impacts their life as much as hearing loss. In addition to affecting their ability to listen in class, hearing loss can also make it hard for your little one to enjoy beautiful music or crucial warning signals like fire alarms. Unfortunately, a few simple missteps might put your child at a higher risk for this lifelong issue.
Here are three ways you might be causing hearing loss in your children and how to change your ways.
Before children can talk, they might cry for a long list of reasons, including hunger, boredom, fear, and pain. Because children's ear canals tend to be very small when they are young, ear infections are common in children, but they can become dangerous when left unmonitored and treated.
Ear infections in babies can cause problems like restlessness, crying, eating problems, and even vomiting. Some children tug at their ears when they hurt, which should act as a red flag for parents to have the issue checked out immediately. If infections are allowed to fester, they can permanently damage the inner ear, causing hearing loss.
If your little one has been having problems sleeping, eating, or playing, schedule a checkup to have them looked at by your pediatrician. In addition to checking for other symptoms like sore throats, rashes, and swelling, your child's doctor will also look for lingering ear infections.
While traditional treatments for ear infections included antibiotics, new recommendations side toward watchful waiting, which helps to prevent antibiotic resistance. However, children under
six months
old will probably be prescribed antibiotics, as well as children under two who are at risk for other issues, such as septicemia.
Your decision to vaccinate or not might seem completely unrelated to your child's hearing, but unfortunately, since many communicable disease can lead to hearing loss, your choice to skip those routine inoculations could result in hearing problems.
Although rare, illnesses like meningitis, mumps, measles, and whooping cough can cause issues with fluid buildup in the inner ear, which can cause permanent hearing loss. Even common diseases like chicken pox and the flu can cause infections severe enough to damage hearing, which is why parents should take advantage of every available vaccination, including the seasonal flu shot and varicella vaccines.
To protect your child's hearing, talk with your child's ear, nose, and throat doctor about vaccination schedules, and educate yourself about the potential risks. Although every vaccination has its own list of potential hazards, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends vaccinations to protect your child from a long list of potential health problems, including hearing issues.
You know that you shouldn't smoke around your children because it could hurt their lungs, but did you know that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from hearing loss? Research has shown that teens who are around smokers are more likely to develop issues with their
cochlea
, creating hearing problems as they get older.
If you are a smoker, consider stopping your habit to help your children to live a better life. Advances in anti-smoking medications have made it easier than ever before to curb the habit, interfering with your brain's pleasure center to make smoking feel less enjoyable.
If your child isn't responding immediately when you call out their name, there might a reason why. Here at
Wilmington Ear Nose & Throat Associates, P.A.
, we help children, teens, adults, and seniors diagnose and treat lingering hearing and balance problems. Whether you're struggling with swallowing issues, balance problems, or issues with your sense of smell, our talented ear, nose, and throat specialists can help you to live your best life.
