6 Yr Old Failed School Hearing Test.. Now What?

I wouldn't get overly concerned right away. I failed more than 1 hearing test at school and passed the audiologist tests with no issues.

I think a lot of factors come into play with school hearing and sight tests with distractions etc.

Best wishes to you at the audiologist and keep us posted!

This is from the ENT that retested my son back in elementary (this was the 2nd opinion after visiting the suggested place by the school which seemed very interested in $$)....

"Typically, in the schools when they test hearing, they plop those things on their heads w/o clear instructions on what to do - so until it is enough to bug the kid, they don't respond. (paraphrased - it's been several years)" -- and this ENT was whispering to my kiddo and getting responses - I was the one having trouble hearing the ENT standing right there!

Plus - as another poster said, he may have a head cold - as my kiddo did, and the doc said he'd be fine after giving him a decongestant.

Has he had a cold recently or allergies? It could be as simple as that. Try not to worry - I know, easier said than done.

One of my sons couldn't hear at all, other than terribly muffled. So he could tell a noise had happened, but not words. It took a while to figure it out. He needed tubes in his ears. Then he heard perfectly. Minor procedure.

If no one suggests ENT, you could bring it up (one of my kids only had a couple of ear infections, but she had tubes put in because her hearing was low on the test). Helped.

I would also caution against getting very worried right now. There are so many issues that could affect hearing. My daughter complained she was having trouble earing and it turned out she had blockage in her ear. Cleared it out and no problems since (5 years now). I tend to have sensory overload where I hear too well. For example, a noise from 20 feet away sounds like it is right next to me and affects hearing something near me. It took a while to diagnose that because hearing tests were always in a quiet place.

As hard as it is, you just have to wait and see what the audiologist has to say.

I took my son to an audiologist (just to rule out a hearing problem) because he was having speech issues. He was taken to a sound proof room. He wore headphones. The audiologist went into a different room (there was a window between the two rooms) and went through a series of sounds, frequencies, etc. She said he was fine.

I'm sure school tests have changed since the last time I saw one done (about 15 years ago), but it was done in a regular room with lots of noise. The headphones were not noise cancelling, and it was difficult to differentiate between the noises in the headphones and the noises in the room. An audiologist should have an environment very conducive to a more accurate assessment.

What happens next is going to depend entirely on what the audiologist observes. Try not to worry and just go in relaxed. If there is something to be concerned about, you will deal with it then.

I also wouldn't worry. Not to disparage the hard workers who administer routine school health screenings, but basic school testing equipment is often over-used, out-of-date due to budget constraints, and sometimes not administered by a fully-trained professional. The point is to screen for potential issues, not to diagnose or determine causes of any abnormal test results. Of course, the school health staff does their best, and they're some of the hardest working people in our schools, but their job is to refer anything out of the norm, and it sounds like your son got the best possible school evaluation.

You did the exact right thing, which is to have your child examined by an audiologist. My daughter recently had a complete audiology exam to rule out ear problems (it ended up not being an ear problem but a type of migraine called vestibular migraines which cause vertigo, which was confirmed by the neurologist to whom the audiologist referred her). She sat in a booth and listened to different tones in different ranges and pushed a button when she heard the tone. The booth was completely sound-proof and the equipment was all the latest. Then the audiologist put special headphones on her and said a variety of words, which my daughter had to repeat. The audiologist did a couple of other tests, all non-invasive, and painless. She also had a thorough ear exam by an ENT specialist, and a couple of other high-tech tests.

There are so many reasons for failing a test: it could be the fault of the equipment, or an infection, or tonsil problems, fluid or wax build-ups, swelling after a virus, or so many other things.

After the audiology exam, the audiologist will prepare his or her report, and usually an ENT specialist examines it and makes recommendations, either for more physical exams, perhaps a CT scan, or whatever is appropriate. You probably won't get results right at the audiology exam, because all the test results must be compiled and reviewed, and recommendations or follow-up referrals prepared. In our case, we had an appointment about a ten days after the audiology exam when the ENT specialist went over all the tests with us and told us that migraines were causing her vertigo, not an ear problem.

My nephew was diagnosed with significant hearing loss. For him it turns out it was just an abnormality he was born with in his middle ear. He has had 3 (minor) surgeries that seem to have fixed it. You really won't know anything until you meet with the audiologist and they run tests. Putting tubes in may help.

Nothing to worry about at this point. Seriously the tests they do at school are usually not correct. Youngest daughter was eye tested at school and basically come out that she needed very strong glasses. Set up a test with an ophthalmologist and yes she could use glasses but it was my option to get them. Her distance vision was just a little off; far different from the 'OMG your kid can't see a thing' I got from the school's results.

What happens after the audiology department depends on the results of the testing and exam. If they confirm that he has hearing loss, then they try to determine the reason for the loss, which leads to the type of treatment needed.

Until you have answers, there is nothing you can do but try to not worry.

Make sure that they do a tympanogram too. If it shows "flat" instead of having a "mountain" in the scan, then there's a pressure issue with the eardrum. That could mean fluid in the ear.

We had this issue with both of our sons and things turned out okay.

My sister needed to get tubes in her ears and her adenoids removed when she was around 4 yo. because she had profound hearing loss. (Until she got her tubes she never heard the TV, I remember her crying the first time we flushed a toilet, she never heard a word the priest said in church until the tubes were put in.

They think she must had hearing as an infant and young toddler because she didn't have speech issues.

It really depends on what is wrong. If there is fluid in his ears that won't clear, then tubes might fix it.

But if there is nerve damage, then he might need hearing aids (this is not the end of the world, which I can say from personal experience).

both my boys had repeated ear infections and tubes, and both ended up with hearing on the lowest end of the 'okay' scale.
i had to do battle with the younger's second grade teacher, but the others were all very obliging about making sure they sat at the front of the classroom so they had fewer distractions and could hear better. but it was really only an issue in elementary school, when they're so wiggly anyway. it wasn't an issue homeschooling, and by college they both had coping techniques down.
if his hearing comes in off the 'normal' scale i guess he'll need hearing aids, right?
khairete
S.

I wouldn't worry too much until you get the results from the audiologist.

My son also failed. He needed his adenoids and tonsils out. His hearing is fine.

My daughter failed hers in kindergarten and we were referred to audiology. She passed that test without issue. She actually has ear sensitivity that has to do with her ear canal.

I understand how scary this is. One of my grandson's was deaf and I know it was from one ear infection.

He was in foster care by age 5 months and I had told my daughter I thought he might be deaf and perhaps even nearly blind. He didn't appear to focus on a face until you were pretty close. He didn't follow your voice and didn't really seem to be bothered by noise when sleeping.

The foster mom took him to an ENT/ORL doc who did hearing tests. This baby didn't even respond when the doc slammed a door behind his head nor did he react with a drum was banged right behind his head.

So the doc examined him to ascertain the reason. He felt the boy might have some help if he had tubes in his ears. The surgery was scheduled and it didn't end on time, the foster mom was getting antsy and they said the doc had found something.

A couple of hours later the doc came out and said he'd ended up going into the ear pretty deep and there was a lot of debris from an ear infection that wasn't treated, and I know that baby had been on antibiotics several times, but the antibiotic didn't go far enough into the ear where the infection was. So the infection had left garbage in the inner ear.

The doc cleaned out as much as he could see. He said that if this didn't work then a surgical hearing device would be needed to help him hear.

That boy woke up hearing and is still hearing to this day.

Listen to the doc and if you think you need a second opinion then go for it.