I suspect that my little Grand daughter might be deaf?

Question

My granddaughter will be 2 next week, she is very cute and bright, but very slow in talking. I wonder if she may need gromits for deafness, sugguestions please for a few home tests, before I take to the doctors

Answer 1

i had a suspicion about my daughter as well when she was much younger because her hearing test results showed that her right ear wasn't responding as it should. what i did was when i am holding her and she is not paying attention to me i whispered in one ear and if she responds that means she can hear from that ear. if not then you should take her to a doctor immediately as she could not be deaf but merely suffering from something called glue ear were the wax blocks the ears (as i understand it but i am not sure about that). but apparently it is curable so don't worry about that if it is the case. well i hope you good luck. you can also try calling her when she has her back to you in a normal calm voice if she turns round her hearing is OK but if you are still worried I'd still say take her to a doctor. good luck.

Answer 2

Dont do home tests, with something so important leave it to the proffessionals, sooner rather than later.
Most todlers have selected deafness (to come here, no etc)
and all childrens speech develops differently, as does walking and "toilets". Particularly within the first two years. You cant compare with other toddlers, with under two's, particularly.
This may also be due to a dummy! You cant talk with your mouth full, and if you, like many parents, point, use gestures, etc, this lazy communication replaces speech.
Your mentioning "speaking" in relation to "hearing" (and reacting to spoken instructions), and sounds?. Its different! It may require Speech therapy, NOT deafness treatment?
Hope your G.daughter is ok, I really do..Dont worry, hearing tests are quite routine, my daughter had one, in similar circumstance, a doctor had a slight concearn, but tests in a soundproof room, in a local clinic, proved she was fine. Its nothing to be afraid of, quite routine, and your not wasting thier time. Theyre hopeing for a negative result too!

Answer 3

I had this with my daughter:

Stand behind her when she is concentrating on something and say her name quietly... try this in lower, then slightly higher tones, until she reacts. If she does react, she may just be focused deeply and tuning out as she does so, we all do this at times.

If she does not respond at all, or only when you shout, then she may have a hearing problem.

Try clapping behind her... or dropping something in the room when she is concentrated elsewhere, see how fast, or not, she reacts.

Improvise a few more 'tests' like these... without drawing attention to them... which means space them well apart, then if you're still concerned suggest to her parents, that maybe she does have a problem. It is their job to get her the help she needs. Unless you are her guardian of course.

I have to say now though, that my daughter had two operations for insertion grommets, and both failed, one caused an absess, and I refused to take her back again.

She is an adult of forty now and able to care for her own needs and those of her two daughters. And not as deaf as she appeared to be back then.

Answer 4

you cant do this by home tests. Take her to dr. They will send you on to audiology and you will get proper answers. If she is very slow to talk, the sooner the better as a simple op may bring on her speech as well as help her hearing obviously. Furthermore, there may be other probs that whilst you wonder at home about it, your grand daughter could be getting help with. The sooner the better with hearing, speech development etc. I say this from personal experience. Go to the dr. Its not at all scary for your grand daughter. In fact the hearing tests are quite fun these days.

Answer 5

It's not uncommon for a two year old not to be talking much, but you could try making noises around her and see what she responds too. If you suspect that she may be deaf, then let the parents know by doing the tests around them. That way they wont feel as though you are questioning their parenting. Hope it works out fine!

Answer 6

Most infants are tested when they're newborn in the hospital for deafness. If by chance she wasn't, then you should go ahead and take her in. The faster she is diagnosed, the faster she'll be treated, and the better chance she has for normal speech and language development.

Answer 7

a simple test is the most common used by Dr.s etc is to engage in conversation with your grandaughter occupying her attention then, with some one behind unseed clapping loudly behind her head, if she doesn't react she may well be deaf but i would take her to the Dr.s anyway, you may be surprised how useful this will be

Answer 8

i dont think you should take to the doctors i think maybe her mum should and speaking slow isnt a sign of deafness every child is diffrent

Answer 9

take her to the doctor ---have her evaluated --- she may not be a talker --- I wasn't - not all kids grow and learn at the same rate.
If she is not looking at you or your back is to her --- ask her a question or give her a simple command --- does she recognize and respond to sounds ----- please have her ears examined --- my mom started having hearing problems and it kept getting worse --- I made an appointment for her (she kept putting it off) --- her ears were filled with wax!

Answer 10

If she's two and you have this suspicion, then you've already tried things at home to see if she can hear them. It's past time to talk to the doctor.