6 Year Old Failed Hearing Tests

I haven't had this problem with my own kids, but was a Kinder teacher. I had some students with fluid in their ears who had significant hearing loss that was relieved by treatment.
The positives in this is that you seem to have caught it early so treatment is more likely to be successful, and it was "late" enough in her development that her speech shouldn't be affected.
Try not to worry (easier said than done, I know), truthfully I've heard many stories like this that ended up being ok.

ADDED- just noticed you mentioned her speech problems, which could be alleviated if it's fairly recently acquired. If it's long term, she may have had hearing problems that stayed under the radar until now. In either case, the prognosis is excellent with some Speech Therapy.

has she passed hearing tests prior to this (i know she passed her 5 year old tests) but what about before? has she always fluctuated between pass and fail?
if not then it's the fluid. fluid staying in her middle ear without being drained causes hearing loss which can be minor or major. the good thing is it sounds like your doctor's hearing loss is conductive loss which means it can be reversed. do not delay finding a good pediatric ENT who has an audiologist on board.
we have been through hearing loss but your daughter's sounds like it is minor. it will be good mama

Is she in speech therapy? I would suggest that you access both public and private therapy, as soon as you can, and it would be a pretty good bet that the audiologist is going to send you for therapy anyway. Start the process at school by requesting an evaluation- in writing. She does not have to wait for her hearing problem to be resolved before either an evaluation or therapy to begin. If the school does an evaluation and a few months later, her hearing improves and they have to do it again, then that is what happens, they do NOT get to put it off. You need to request something called "Prior Written Notice" from them if they try to tell you any hog wash about waiting for an evaluation. That is not your invitation to a meeting, it is a document that they are required to give you anytime they refuse to do something you ask for, and on that document they have to tell you what data, evlauation, or reason why they are saying no. They won't write down that they are refusing for an illegal reason, so you will get your evaluation if you insist on your rights to have this document. Ask them to give you a copy of your rights under IDEA if they have not already and visit www.wrightslaw.com for much more information on how to navigate the system.

Start private therapy as soon as you can, and pay for as much as you can afford to. Do not depend on the public services to be everything your child needs. The school is only required to make her functional, and you want more than that.

Good luck honey, I hope it all works out soon.

M.

One of my now adult children used to fail hearing tests occasionally when younger. She does not have a hearing problem. Her ear canals were small and when they put the headphones on it pressed the eustachian tubes closed. When they pulled my daughters outer ears back & down before placing the headphones on her, she did fine. I don't know if they still use headphones today, but thought I'd mention it. Speech problems can be a sign of hearing loss.

If your daughter passed her test last year then it is likely that fluid is causing the problem this year. The audiologist will be able to answer your questions when you meet. Try not to worry too much...I failed all my hearing tests in school but my hearing wasn't bad enough to require hearing aids and I had no problems learning to speak properly.

when they have fluid in there ear the hearing test will flat line. when they have tubes the test will flatline (deaf peoples hearing test will flat line) if she was normal at five and failing at 6 tubes will probably remedy the problem. she may require speech but dont sweat it my oldest only had to do it like 6 or 9 months I don't remember. tubes should help most of her speech problem.