Treatment of Hearing Loss in Children in Kyiv

It is completely normal for parents to become anxious when they find that their child does not hear well. This worry arises because parents seldom understand the difference between deafness and hearing loss. They are ready to accept that their child is deaf and begin to feel sorry for themselves and their child, because they believe nothing can be fixed.

CSM specialists strongly disagree with this position: treatment of hearing loss in children in Kyiv and in Ukraine is possible at different ages, and our clinic provides such services.

An Important Difference

Insufficient hearing function is classified as either deafness or hearing loss. Deafness is a condition in which a person cannot perceive most sounds even with the use of sound amplifiers and hearing aids. This impairment is usually irreversible but is truly uncommon.

Hearing loss in children, on the other hand, can and should be treated, and in some cases substantial recovery of hearing function may be achieved. Or conditions can be created under which hearing loss in preschool children becomes less pronounced, for example, with the help of a hearing aid.

Hearing Loss in a Child: Types of Hearing Loss

Depending on the timing and factors involved in its development, hearing loss is classified as:

• hereditary;
• congenital: on average, 1 in 1000 newborns is born with some degree of hearing loss;
• acquired: the most common, which can arise under the influence of various factors.

Depending on the cause of hearing impairment, there are:

• Conductive hearing loss: there is an obstruction of some origin in the middle or outer ear that prevents sounds from reaching the inner ear.
• Sensorineural hearing loss, which CSM doctors treat. In this case the problem lies in the auditory nerve or the inner ear and most often arises in the perinatal period or in the first months of life.

Conductive disorders are easier to address, while sensorineural ones take longer to work with and require individually selected treatment plans. CSM specialists work on this task with experience and aim to help improve hearing, whatever the causes of the dysfunction.

What to Do If a Child's Hearing Has Worsened

You should contact the clinic immediately when you notice even the slightest signs of hearing loss.

For example, children with hearing impairment:

• do not respond to their own name;
• hear different sounds unequally;
• at 1 month do not startle at loud sounds;
• at 3-4 months do not turn to look for the source of a sound;
• at 12-15 months have hardly any developed speech;
• cannot tell where you are until they find you with their eyes.

The importance of seeking help in time is hard to overstate. On the one hand, age is related to the effectiveness of treatment: hearing loss in a 3-year-old will take longer and be more complicated to treat than in a newborn, especially if it is caused by a disease of the inner ear or nerve. On the other hand, speech and hearing are closely connected. If a child cannot hear sounds well, they will not learn to speak correctly, and therefore to write.

At CSM, experienced doctors carry out diagnostics, determining the fact of hearing loss, its degree, and the causes that led to the changes. Then, based on the collected medical history, they select the most suitable method of treatment or correction. If the condition is caused by acquired factors, drug therapy and auditory exercises may be used. In other situations, to achieve a result, this needs to be supplemented with physiotherapy procedures, hearing aid fitting, or cochlear implantation.

Our center provides comprehensive services for restoring hearing function in children of any age. The earlier patients come to our doctors, the better the outcome may be.

Sources

• Ministry of Health of Ukraine
• World Health Organization