Listening difficulties occur in children diagnosed with auditory processing disorders (also known as central auditory processing disorders) and may co-occur in children who have developmental language disorder or attention/memory deficits. Persistent listening difficulties negatively affect children's learning and functioning. Studying factors that influence children’s listening performance using a unified multidisciplinary approach is crucial to better identify and manage deficits that contribute to listening difficulties in children.
18 Years Later
Our twins, James and Riley, were born on August 23. They did not pass this initial hearing screen, so auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests were administered in the hospital. Two weeks after a second ABR with our audiologist, they were both diagnosed with moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
10 Clues Your Child Has a Hearing Loss
Universal hearing screening for newborns has helped to identify most children with hearing issues quickly and accurately. With simple tests, 80 to 90 percent of hearing loss can be detected, and children can begin early intervention with the best possible outcomes for language development.
HHF and Friends Urge Full Funding of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention
As a leading authority on hearing loss research, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) promotes hearing health through a variety of channels, including outreach to legislators. In early March 2020, HHF and 12 other member organizations of the Friends of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus authored a letter to urge the U.S. Federal Government’s preservation of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) initiative.
Broomfield, CO Girl Inspires Hearing Aid Legislation
Each device costs between $5,000 and $8,000, Ally’s mother Melissa Tumblin said, and they have to be replaced every five years. When her insurance company denied coverage of her hearing device, Tumblin formed Ear Community to help advocate for coverage of these devices to make sure no one is left unable to hear because of private insurance companies’ refusal to grant coverage.
No Excuses
Around the age of 3 and a half, my parents started noticing that I was always turning my right ear to the person speaking. Something wasn’t right. I was not reacting to sounds the way the typical hearing child should. My parents took me to my pediatrician who referred us to an audiologist. On September 28, 2000, at age 4, I was diagnosed with bilateral moderate-severe sensorineural hearing loss and immediately fitted with hearing aids.
Meet Braden Baker: How One Kid Raised Thousands for People in Need of Hearing Aids
It all started with Braden’s dog, Chewy, who chewed up a then 10-year-old Braden’s expensive hearing aids one warm, June night in 2017—for the second time. Born with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, Braden, a now 13-year-old Fort Worth, Texas native, has worn hearing aids since he was seven months old. It turns out, Chewy has expensive taste as custom hearing aids can run from $1,000 to a whopping $6,000 dollars per pair.
Children’s Working Memory and Phonological Awareness Benefit From Hearing Earlier
In Frontiers in Psychology, Christina Reuterskiöld, Ph.D., and team detail their study of the relationship among rhyme awareness (the first phonological skill children develop), vocabulary size, working memory and linguistic characteristics of words in children with typical hearing and children with cochlear implants.
HHF Endorses California Pediatric Hearing Aids Bill
Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) has formally endorsed AB 598, a bill in California calling for the expansion of hearing aid insurance coverage for children.
Miracle Moments
By Casey Dandrea
Virginia toddler Charlotte (Charly)’s first experiences with sound using hearing aids captivated millions. The video, taken in 2017 when Charly was an infant, aired across multiple local television networks and went viral on the internet.
Photo credit: Christy Keane (@theblushingbluebird)
Charly’s mother, Christy Keane, is heard fighting back tears in response to her daughter’s expressions. “I’ve never seen that face before. You’re going to make me cry,” Christy says as Charly displays a smile and her eyes light up. For the first time, Charly was visibly reacting to Christy’s voice.
Charly’s one-minute viral video debut was more than heartwarming—it was educational. With technology, children born with hearing loss can communicate just like those with typical hearing.
Christy’s understanding of profound hearing loss before Charly’s diagnosis was minimal. “I had never met a deaf person in my life and had absolutely no knowledge on hearing loss or intervention options,” Christy says. Following Charly’s birth, Christy immediately surrounded herself and family with a team of supportive specialists to earn more about pediatric hearing loss and options for treatment.
Charly was diagnosed with a bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss at age 1 month after failing all three hearing tests as a newborn. She was fitted with hearing aids at 2 months old, which she wore for eight months prior to her cochlear implant (CI) surgery in June 2018. Christy and her husband chose cochlear implantation for their daughter because they wanted to give Charly the best access to speech and sound for her needs.
Christy and Charly. Photo credit: Christy Keane (@theblushingbluebird)
Having had access to sound since infancy, Charly will enjoy the same opportunities as a child with typical hearing. Children who receive early intervention for hearing loss reduce their risk of falling behind in speech and language acquisition, academic achievement, and social and emotional development.
The video’s reception inspired Christy to chronicle her daughter’s progress on Instagram. Now with one hundred thousand followers, Christy is thankful to have touched so many individuals all over the world. Her #miraclemomentsoftheday posts, in which she records Charly’s reactions to her daily CI activation (and previously her hearing aids), are especially popular.
Christy is proud to have created a forum that provides encouragement to families of children with hearing loss. “Every day I receive a message from a parent of a newly diagnosed child and I can remember the exact emotions they are experiencing,” she says “I love to be an example of how fulfilling it is to be a parent-advocate and how quickly your perspective changes as you learn more about hearing loss and language options.”
Christy hopes to change perceptions of hearing loss offline, too. She volunteers with Virginia Hands & Voices, an organization that helps families of children with hearing loss. Ultimately, Christy is working to provide an atmosphere for families with children with hearing loss to come together to celebrate their achievements and share their experiences.
Casey Dandrea is an HHF intern studying journalism at Long Island University Brooklyn. For more on Charly’s progress, see Christy’s Instagram.