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TO AID OR NOT TO AID?
Bilateral Aural Atresia
Children with bilateral aural atresia will normally be given hearing
aids from birth due to the hearing loss on both sides.
Unilateral Aural Atresia
Traditionally, hearing loss on one side was not believed to limit
children's language. Recently, therapies for hearing loss have appreciated
the importance of bilateral hearing for optimal speech and language
development. In addition to long-term development, bilateral hearing
is important for hearing in a noisy environment, such as in groups,
with background noise, and for sound localization eg, knowing from
which side a car is approaching.
The effects of hearing loss on one side include:
- Not being able to tell where a sound is coming
from
- Difficulty hearing with background noise due to
the inability to filter out background noise
- Not being able to distinguish one sound over another
when there are several competing sounds
- You cannot hear stereo sound you only hear
in mono.
- You have to work harder to hear than those with
normal hearing
- Crossing busy roads and riding bikes in heavy traffic
can be dangerous for children with unilateral hearing loss due
to difficulty localizing sounds. Mirrors on bikes and careful
training in road crossing are needed.
- Always provide ear protection (plugs or muffs)
during activities with high levels of noise such as fireworks,
rock concerts to protect the good ear from damage.
Medical opinion seems to be split on whether you
should or should not aid unilateral hearing loss. It seems that in
previous years medical opinion was that if a person could hear within
normal levels on one side, there was no need to aid the other side.
However there seems to be some research that is changing this opinion
and many audiologists are now recommending aiding unilateral hearing
loss to stimulate the nerve endings. Children with unilateral atresia
wearing Baha's are now becoming more common, as are children with
unilateral atresia undergoing atresia repair. Medical opinion seems
to be changing in favour of aiding unilateral hearing loss. . Baha
testers are available on a headband so you can see if aiding makes
a difference. However, everyone is different and every case should
be looked at individually.
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Children's
Occupational Therapy & Sensory Integration Centre
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Book Available For Young Children With Microtia