How Hearing Loss Affects a Child’s Development

Early Signs of Hearing Loss

Some children are born with hearing loss, while others may develop it later in childhood. Knowing what to expect with your child’s development can help you recognize the possibility of hearing loss and act quickly. Here are a few things to watch for:

• Your baby doesn’t react to loud noises or other sounds.
• Your child doesn’t turn or look when you call their name.
• Your child struggles to follow simple instructions.

As your child grows, you may notice delays in speaking or understanding language as well.

Speech and Language Delays

Depending on which type of hearing loss they have, children with hearing loss may have problems speaking clearly. For example, they may:

• leave out quieter sounds like s, sh, f, t, or k
• speak too loudly or too softly because they can’t hear their own voice well

Children with hearing loss generally do not learn words as fast as those with normal hearing. They may:

• learn easily understandable words like cat, jump, five, or red, but struggle with abstract words like before, equal to, or shy
• leave out small but important words like the, an, are, and a
• have trouble understanding words with multiple meanings—like bat (an animal or a baseball bat)

Children with hearing loss may also struggle with grammar. They may:

• understand and use shorter, simpler sentences than their peers who do not have hearing loss
• have trouble hearing the endings of words (like -s, -ed), which affects their understanding of plurals, past tense, and possession

School Success

Children with hearing loss may have difficulty in school.

• Children with hearing loss can fall behind in school without support.
• This academic gap can widen over time, especially if the child does not get help with their hearing loss.
• Children with hearing loss can do better in school if they get help early. This help includes support at home and in school.

Social Skills

Hearing loss can make conversations hard to follow. Children with hearing loss may not want to talk or play with other kids. They may experience:

• difficulty making or keeping friends
• feelings of loneliness or isolation
• low confidence or unhappiness in school settings
• feelings of loneliness or isolation

Getting Help

If you think your child may have hearing loss, the most important thing you can do is have an audiologist test your child’s hearing. With early help, your child may speak or use sign language as well as children who hear. Your audiologist can talk to you about the best way to treat your child’s hearing loss. Treatment may include hearing aids, medical treatment, and/or speech and language therapy.

To find an audiologist or speech-language pathologist near you, visit ProFind.