It is terrifying and heart rending for a parent to discover that his child suffers from hearing impairment. As kids cannot speak it is the duty of parents to recognize external symptoms and know the child s hearing impairment. The clear sign is the baby s lack of response to loud noises or sweet nurturing talk of mom or dad. Immediately a pediatrician must be consulted to find out the nature, cause and extent of the condition. Of the many causes, a few or only transitory and can be treated by the pediatrician. More serious and permanent impairment will be referred to an audiologist to determine the extent of the problem. As children pick up speaking by hearing the spoken word, those with hearing impaired must have some form of speech pathology.
Consumer Causes
Inner ear infection is the cause of infantile hearing loss in one or both the ears. Proper medical care will restore the baby s hearing. Fluid build up in the inner canals is the cause of infections. Drying of this fluid is done by pediatricians through inserting small, tables in the child s ears and left for many weeks to prevent rebuild up.
Serious infant hearing loss is caused by the cytomegalovirus. This is a part of Herpes genes CMV attacks the salivary glands in close proximity to the inner ear canal. It spreads to a fetus through the mother. Thus making the infants hearing loss congenital. Once infected with CMV the virus becomes inactive on the nerve endings with occasional flare ups through out life. This condition has no cure at all. CMV can also be transmitted to a child by breast feeding or a child born with a compromised immune system like HIV. Infants infected with CMV at birth have hearing and vision loss and also mental retardation.
Meniere s is another reason for infant hearing loss. This inner ear disorder has symptoms of dizziness, ringing of the ear, and progressive hearing loss in one ear. As children are in articulate and cannot express their suffering the disease is not detected until it becomes apparent when the child is able to walk. Treatment for this disease aims at reducing the pressure within the inner ear with antihistamines, steroids and diuretics. This situation is also known as Darwin s illness since Charles Darwin was plagued by it all through his life.
[tags]Pediatrician, External Symptoms, CMV[/tags]