Hearing loss can make it difficult for your child to develop language skills and communicate with others. This can negatively impact their learning ability and cause them to struggle in school.
Children with Hearing Loss Struggle Learning Speech and Language 
A child with hearing loss can experience a variety of difficulties with speech and language development, including:
- Taking longer to develop their vocabulary
- Having difficulty understanding the meaning of abstract words
- Struggling to understand words with multiple meanings
- Learning to read at a slower pace than their peers
- Speaking only in short sentences and having difficulty understanding complex sentences
- Struggle hearing words that end in “s” or “ed” making it harder to grasp different tenses
- Trouble gauging the volume of their own voice
As children grow older, these gaps in vocabulary and speech tend to widen. This can lead to lower levels of academic achievement as well as overall interest in school.
Hearing Loss Can Affect a Child’s Ability to Make Friends
One of the most important ways your child can develop stronger communication skills is by making friends with their classmates at Highlands Elementary School. Unfortunately, untreated hearing loss can make this more difficult as well.
When you struggle to hear and communicate, it becomes hard to connect with others. Children with hearing loss often feel isolated from their peers.
Hearing Aids Help Children Learn
The good news is that treatment with hearing aids or cochlear implants can allow children with hearing loss to reach the same developmental milestones as their peers with normal hearing. The earlier the treatment is received, the better.
A 2016 study examined the language outcomes of preschool-aged children with mild to severe hearing loss and the role hearing aids played in their development.
They found that children fit early with hearing aids had better early language achievement than children who were fit later. However, children who were fit after 18 months were still able to improve their language abilities with the help of hearing aids.
If you’re concerned about your child’s hearing, call Southwest Idaho ENT to make an appointment with one of our specialists today.