Category: Deaf / Hard of Hearing

Microtia is a Latin word that means “Small Ear”. It can vary from the complete absence of the external ear to an ear that is normal in shape but smaller in size.

Everyday in the United States, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns (or 33 babies every day) is born profoundly deaf, another 2-3 out of 1,000 babies are born with a partial hearing loss, making hearing loss the number one birth defect in America.

Most often, hearing loss treatment depends on what kind of hearing loss your child has and which specialists are the best suited to handle the treatment.

Whether your child uses assistive technologies, is in the process of being evaluated, or is waiting for follow up testing, it is critical they have access to language, visual or verbal, from birth.

Pediatric Audiological Evaluation (PAE), or behavioral hearing evaluations are used with children who are old enough (usually over 7 months) to respond to sounds either by turning their head or by playing a game.

A speech banana is a tool you can use to chart what your child can hear in a natural environment.

Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is when there is a hearing loss in one ear and normal hearing in the other ear. It may be congenital (from birth) or from something that happened after birth (medication, trauma, genetic).

The ear has three parts: outer, middle and inner. Sound enters the ear through the ear canal (part of the outer ear), hits the eardrum (beginning of the middle ear) and shakes the three bones in the middle ear.

Parents and Professionals work as a team to determine the most appropriate treatment for a child with hearing loss based on several factors: Is the loss permanent or temporary? Will the child be aided or not? Will surgery be an option later on or right away?

Hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the United States. It often occurs alone, with no other mental or physical challenges to the child.