Live Life Team
Children develop senses as they grow. Off all the senses, hearing and vision are the most important. Therefore, carrying out tests on children is necessary to know if these senses have developed properly. The relevant tests for hearing and vision indicate the condition of these senses. When the parents feel that the children have problems in hearing and vision, they should take them to their doctor to assess the efficiency and vision of their children and take remedial action wherever possible. Certain deficiencies in hearing and vision are congenital too. Therefore, the tests are carried out on the newborns at the hospital. Parents are responsible for subjecting their children to these tests until the children are able to come out with complaints.
Why the hearing and vision tests are necessary for children
There are standard tests for assessing the hearing and vision problems in children. An early detection and treatment can prevent total loss of hearing or vision. The deficiencies can be managed by providing equipment. Glasses for vision loss and hearing aid for hearing loss are some examples.
How hearing loss can be detected
Health professionals carry out regular tests to detect if the child is able to hear the normal frequencies of sound. The child may develop problems in between these tests too. Normally babies should respond to loud noises. Children become anxious to know the source of sound. At the age of twelve months, children try to repeat the sound they hear. If these normal signs are absent, the hearing loss may be a suspect. It may be a temporary loss due to cold, or a permanent one too.
What are the causes of hearing impairment
The following could be the causes of hearing impairment:
- Accumulation of fluid in the ear, or glue ear
- A severe head injury, causing damage to auditory nerves
- Hearing loud noises
- Head surgery
- Congenital hearing impairment
- Infections in the womb of women when pregnant
- Infections occurring to the baby just after birth
- Birth asphyxia
- Meningitis or encephalitis occurring after birth
How vision loss can be detected
The schools usually organise eye tests on regular basis. These tests are helpful in finding out abnormality in the eyes such as cataract or squint eyes. The tests could also reveal visual defects such as long-sightedness or shortsightedness. The movement of eyeballs is also checked in the routine tests. Children who are in secondary schooling undergo tests for colour blindness. Normally parents come to know first about the vision defects of their children. Newborns should be able to follow moving objects visually. If the babies have squint eyes, the parents should inform the doctor about it. Purposeless movement of eyes in children is an important sign of vision defect. Some babies have growth in the eye, which is identified in colour photos of the children. In the photograph, one eye appears in red and the other in white. This condition demands an immediate eye test.
What are the causes of visual impairment
The following could be the causes of visual impairment:
- Short-sightedness or long-sightedness
- Congenital problems such as improper size of the eye
- Damaged optic nerve
- Tumour, causing pressure in the eye
- Cataracts, congenital
- Infections during pregnancy
- Premature birth, before full development of eyes
