Hearing Problems in Children

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children

Summary

Most children hear and listen from the moment they are born. They learn to talk by imitating the sounds around them and the voices of their parents and caregivers. But about 2 or 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. More lose their hearing later during childhood.

Babies should have a hearing screening before they are a month old. If your child has a hearing loss, it is important to consider the use of hearing devices and other communication options by age 6 months. That's because children start learning speech and language long before they talk.

Hearing problems can be temporary or permanent. Sometimes, ear infections, injuries or diseases affect hearing. If your child does not hear well, get help.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Start Here

• Hearing Loss in Children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Your Baby's Hearing and Communicative Development Checklist (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Hearing Tests for Children (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Screening and Diagnosis of Hearing Loss (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Testing Baby's Hearing (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Hearing Tests (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Hearing Treatment and Intervention Services (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Assistive Devices: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• American Sign Language (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Building Languages (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Communicating Clearly While Wearing a Face Covering (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Earbuds (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Ototoxicity (Ear Poisoning) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Auditory Neuropathy (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• Auditory Processing Disorder (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Aural Atresia (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Ear Injuries (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts and Childhood Hearing Loss (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• Hearing Loss in Children: Types of Hearing Loss (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Pendred Syndrome (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• CHARGE syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Deafness and myopia syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics of Hearing Loss (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Hearing and the cochlea (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Hearing Loss in Children: Data and Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Deafness (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hearing Disorders (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Task-Dependent Effects of Signal Audibility for Processing Speech: Comparing Performance With...
• Article: Acceptance and Benefit of Electroacoustic Stimulation in Children.
• Article: Programming Levels and Speech Perception in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients With...
• Hearing Problems in Children -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• NIDCD Glossary (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Your Ears (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders) (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Find an Audiologist (American Academy of Audiology)
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

• Can Loud Music Hurt My Ears? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Going to the Audiologist (Nemours Foundation)