Early intervention for children
Find out more about early intervention for children with hearing loss.
Page contents
- The importance of early hearing loss treatment for children.
- Hearing and language development.
- How parents can get advice.
If a child has hearing loss, getting treatment sooner rather than later can have many benefits. These include laying the foundation for fundamental language, which allows them to develop social skills and help them succeed in school.1,2
The importance of early hearing loss treatment for children
Hearing is the process of sound travelling through the child's ears, but it's actually their brain that interprets what they hear. Providing their brain with the stimulation it needs at an early age can enable them to develop speech, language and social skills.1
Hearing and language development
Babies and children learn to talk by listening to their parents and the world around them. When infants babble, it's part of their language development; they're experimenting with communication and mimicking the words they hear.
Hearing is essential to their language development3, which may affect how they interact with others and how they perform at school.
The earlier the hearing loss is treated, the better chance the child will have to develop language equivalent to a normal-hearing child.
How parents can get help and advice
The first step for parents who need advice about children and hearing loss is a visit to a hearing health professional. A hearing specialist can recommend the best treatment options for children with hearing difficulties.
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Disclaimer
Please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always follow the directions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.
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References
- Ching TYC, Dillon H, Leigh G, Cupples L. Learning from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study: summary of 5-year findings and implications. Int J Audiol. (2018;May); 57(sup2).Effects of Hearing Loss on Development. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) [Internet]. 2013 [Cited 2013 July]. Available from ASHA.
- Geers AE and Nicholas JG. Enduring advantages of earlier cochlear implantation for spoken language development. J Speech Lang Hear Res. (2013 Apr); 56(2).
- Ching, T. Y., Crowe, K., Martin, V., Day, J., Mahler, N., Youn, S., Street, L., Cook, C., & Orsini, J. (2010). Language development and everyday functioning of children with hearing loss assessed at 3 years of age. International journal of speech-language pathology, 12(2), 124–131