All set for school with Mackay Hearing

Good hearing and the ability to process audible information are essential elements in your child’s learning and development.

For parents of school age kids, the summer school holidays are a time to reflect on the year that was and prepare for and enjoy the festive period. Then all to soon, the back-to-school rush begins, with new lunchboxes, working through stationary lists, covering exercise books and sorting school uniforms just some of the many tasks requiring attention before the school year begins.

This summer school holidays, Mackay Hearing is stressing the importance of children’s ability to hear as a cornerstone in their learning and development. If you have the slightest concern that your child is not hearing or processing audible information as well as they should, it is essential that a hearing test and / or central auditory processing disorder assessment are added to the back to school to-do list. The sooner the better!

Kids who have problems with their hearing, such as hearing loss or ear infections, can have trouble with developing language, learning and social skills. Being aware of any issues before sending them into the classroom means you can put in place support measures with both your child’s teacher, and other professionals as needed.

Signs of a potential hearing issue

Signs of potential hearing issues in kids can include, but are not limited to:

• speech not developing as expected (click here for our comprehensive list of developmental milestones)
• many ear infections and/or pulling at their ears and complaining that they’re sore
• wanting the TV or music turned up constantly
• not responding properly and asking for repeats often
• misunderstanding what others are saying
• unusually loud or soft talking
• other developmental delays

Other factors linked with potential hearing issues can include:

• child has had bacterial meningitis or other serious illness
• born with an abnormality anywhere on the head or neck, such as a cleft palate, ear tags or pits
• family history of hearing loss
• born with a low birth weight

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s hearing ability, it is very important to contact us immediately as we specialise in children’s hearing tests. Hearing tests are non-invasive, pain free and take no longer than 30 minutes.

Helpful resources:

• speech, language and hearing milestones
• developmental milestones checklist
• Aussie Deaf Kids
• Deaf Children Australia
• Speech Pathology Australia

A short attention span and not listening properly to instructions – sounds about right for every kid at some point! These are both totally normal behaviours, but if they are recurring, or there are other symptoms – then it’s probably a good idea to

What is CAPD?

Central Auditory Processing Disorder describes a breakdown in the hearing process, where your brain is unable to make sense of what your ears are hearing. Think of being in a noisy classroom or even at home with the TV on and someone is giving you instructions but your brain just isn’t able to decipher the difference between what is being said to you and the noise that surrounds you.

What to watch for

There is a broad range of symptoms that could point to CAPD, but many can also be common signs of being a kid. Delayed response to performing a requested task, asking for instructions over and over, being unorganised – your child may be a little preoccupied (i.e. tuning you out while watching Netflix), or it could be the sign of something deeper.

Finding out for sure

CAPD won’t be picked up during a standard hearing test – but it can be diagnosed during specialised auditory testing. After 10 years of CAPD testing and being a mum to three young kids, I am passionate about helping parents to not only detect CAPD; but also, to help you and your child overcome those CAPD obstacles.

Curing CAPD

As well as a combined effort from a child’s parents, teachers and audiologist, there is now an app available to help your child beat a common form of CAPD. With Sound Storm, your child can perform brain exercises for 15 minutes per day over 12 weeks to help retrain the pathways that are causing CAPD. Available for Apple devices only and is most suitable on iPads.