Gelisim News

Hearing loss reduces academic achievement

Hearing loss in children may be present at birth or may develop later. Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist Asst. Prof. Dr. Eren Yilmaz, who stated that language development is also adversely affected due to hearing loss, also indicated hearing loss that develops after language development negatively affects language use and reduces academic success.

Hearing loss is common in children. This situation, which affects living standards, negatively affects language development when early diagnosis and necessary treatments are not applied. Hearing loss, which may develop due to certain factors, may be losses arising from the inner ear and due to the influence of neural structures, as well as conductive hearing loss due to problems in the physical transmission of sound as a result of diseases affecting the external ear canal, eardrum or middle ear.

“HEARING LOSS IN CHILDREN DOES NOT START ONLY IN THE NEWBORN PERIOD”

Hearing loss in children may be present at birth or may develop later. Hearing screening is applied to all children in the newborn period in our country. Asst. Prof. Dr. Eren Yılmaz, Ear Nose and Throat Specialist from Istanbul Gelisim University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Audiology: “Further evaluations are made for children who do not pass the screening or who are at risk of hearing loss due to factors such as premature birth, staying in an incubator, neonatal jaundice, meningitis, and some infections that the mother had during pregnancy. In this way, the emotional, academic and language development of children can be achieved with early diagnosis and treatment. However, hearing loss in children does not only begin in the neonatal period. Inner ear anomalies, genetic diseases, and medications can cause gradual hearing loss that begins in the first years of life. The fact that it does not show any symptoms in the neonatal period and its slow progression, unfortunately, causes this type of hearing loss to be ignored. Permanent damage can occur if middle ear infections, which are common and recurrent in childhood, are not treated.

EARLY DIAGNOSIS IS SIGNIFICANT!

Language development is also adversely affected due to hearing loss. Especially in the early stages of life, when language development is critical, the presence of hearing loss makes the situation worse. Asst. Prof. Dr. Yılmaz: “Adverse hearing loss that starts without language development, language development is no longer possible, even if it is treated in the future. Hearing loss that develops after language development affects the use of language negatively, reducing academic success. It is essential to evaluate children in terms of hearing, starting from the neonatal period. Early diagnosis and treatment are also very crucial in the normal language, intelligence and academic development of children.”