{"id":3147,"date":"2022-06-30T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/?p=3147"},"modified":"2022-07-01T13:31:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T17:31:36","slug":"has-your-childs-hearing-loss-been-misdiagnosed-as-a-learning-disability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/has-your-childs-hearing-loss-been-misdiagnosed-as-a-learning-disability\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Your Child\u2019s Hearing Loss Been Misdiagnosed as a Learning Disability?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
If your child can\u2019t hear well<\/a>, it can impact their performance at school. Not only will they have a hard time keeping up, but they may become frustrated and act out. For these reasons, they may be misdiagnosed as having a learning disability. Below we cover how common hearing loss is in children, how the symptoms of hearing loss and learning disabilities overlap and how you can help your child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CDC<\/a> reports that approximately 15% of school-aged children, ages six to 19, have hearing loss<\/a> of at least 16 decibels in one or both ears, and about .1% have severe hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can have major impacts. According to the American Speech-Language<\/a>-Hearing Association (ASHA)<\/a>, children with mild to moderate untreated hearing loss are likely to behind their peers with normal hearing by anywhere from one to four grade levels, and those with more severe untreated hearing loss often do not progress beyond third-grade level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, with the right interventions, a student with hearing loss can be successful in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both children with hearing loss and children with learning disabilities can experience feelings of frustration if they\u2019re having trouble following along or keeping up in class. This can lead to behaviors such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your child is exhibiting the symptoms listed above, the first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with an audiologist for a comprehensive hearing test. Hearing tests can objectively show what type of hearing loss your child has, how severe it is and what frequencies are affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, your child\u2019s audiologist can recommend a treatment plan. For children with mild to severe hearing loss, hearing aids are the gold standard of treatment. For children with severe to profound hearing loss, cochlear implants may be recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cResearchers and clinicians have assumed that that hearing aids should be good for hard-of-hearing youth in terms of learning, speech, language, and socialization,\u201d explains Bruce Tomblin<\/a>, professor in the University of Iowa\u2019s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. \u201cOur research now provides strong evidence in support of these expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Common Is Hearing Loss in Children?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How Do Symptoms of Hearing Loss & Learning Disabilities Overlap?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Can I Help My Child with Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n