Could It Be Hearing Loss?

My son had this same issue. I would stand behind him without him knowing it and whisper his name & he would not hear anything. I took him to an ENT doctor and it was determined that he had so much buildup of wax because his ears were not draining properly. They put tubes in and in no time was hearing better. The ENT will doing special hearing tests as they are better equiped since this is their specialty. If you are in the NW Austin area let me know and I can recommend a great ENT.

Good luck!

With "a lot of allergies" she could be simply suffering the effects of a lot of fluid in her ear constantly. This will occur when the ear drum does not properly drain or there is so much that it can't drain fast enough...

This will result in sounds (words and others) seeming far away, difficult to hear (like you are underwater listening to someone speak) and after irrigation, could have irritated the ear drum so much that she was temporarily (a few hours to a few days) unable to hear at all from the affected (not infected) ear.

Let them take their more thorough test to find out. It is possible she will simply need a tube in that ear to help with draining the fluid...With any luck that will be the end of it. With "lots of allergies" though she may go through the same once the tube has come out and may require another set.

See if allergy shots will help her out or an allergy medication.

Good Luck!!! ;-)

I'm glad you have decided to take your child to an ENT. Like so many others here, our nephew, for whom we were guardians, had hearing loss...as much as 75% in one of the ears. Tubes were put in and it was discovered that what had once been fluid behind the ear drums, had turned into a thick, gummy substance that kept the ear drum from moving with sound. He now hears very well.

Take your daughter to the ENT immediately. My daughter had a 20% hearing loss due to fluid in the ear because the ear canal was not properly draining. After the tubes and adnoids taken out she passed the hearing test with flying colors. She is now 20 years old. Good luck!

She is probably having hearing loss due to congestion. I experience it all the time. DO NOT dismiss it though. Keep an eagle eye on her hearing, even if you have to get it checked every season. My husband has been going through the same thing for a couple of months now. Just keep her quality of life in mind.

Hi Elisa,
If you believe the root of this problem could be allergies then I would suggest trying to rid your home of household chemicals and toxins that can silently aggravate allergies. Also, if your child is in swimming pools with cholorine that can also cause the ears some damage due to allergies. I had that problem with my three youngest children for ever so long until we discovered the cause was the cholorine in the pools. I rid my home of all toxins and chemical cleaning products and that solved the problems to a great extent. My youngest had some hearing loss from the cholorine allergies and constant ear infections. If she speaks clearly and the one ear is the problem it should take care of itself by keeping it clear of wax build up and if she goes swimming a lot- get her some ear plugs to protect her ears.
good luck and blessings

My youngest failed her annual hearing test at the pediatrician. FYI T. months earlier she had had an ear infection, she also suffers from seasonal allergies and swims all summer. Regardless, I felt that the test had been rushed and that the headphones were not on correctly. I took her to my Ear/Nose/Throat doctor where he and a licensed audiologist did detailed testing including some in an enclosed sound booth. They found no problems and she heard everything very well. You might want to consider taking your daughter to an ENT as well.
Good luck.

Don't wait a month. Take her to an audiologist who can give you answers right away!

Don't worry too much just yet! My son failed his hearing screening in both ears! When I took him to see the ENT for a formal hearing test in the booth he did great in both ears. Definately don't freak out just yet!

My son failed a hearing test once because he had fluid in his ears. They waited a month for the fluid to go down and then he passed with flying colors, both the doctor's test and a high tech one. But my doctor was able to see the fluid, I'm not sure if your doctor did or not. So it can happen, hope this helps.

We had a comprehensive hearing test a few months ago at the Texas ENT location on 290 / Huffmeister.

The staff is helpful and the doctors are great.

I would get a Cat scan, but that's just because of family medical history. Might just be fluid. My daughter had so much fluid in her ears that we didn't know of until she had tubes put in. It affected both her hearing and balance.

I got this off WebMd:

Hearing LossFont SizeA A A Exams and Tests
Your doctor will diagnose hearing loss by asking questions about your symptoms and past health (medical history) and by doing a physical exam. He or she may find during a routine visit that you have some hearing loss.

If you report symptoms of hearing loss or your doctor finds a possible hearing problem, he or she may ask you about recent or long-term exposure to loud noise, any medicine you are taking, and physical symptoms (such as muffled hearing, ringing in your ears, or vertigo). Your answers to these questions may help determine the cause of the hearing loss.

You will also have a physical exam of the ears. Your doctor will use a lighted instrument (an otoscope) and may find problems in the ear canal, eardrum, and middle ear, including earwax, an object or obstruction in the ear canal, infection or fluid in the ear, or injury to the ear.

If your exam, history, or symptoms suggest a hearing problem, your doctor may do a standard hearing (audiologic) evaluation.

Standard hearing evaluation
A standard hearing evaluation may consist of any or all of the following tests:

The whisper test checks how well you hear whispered speech across a short distance and how well you understand speech.
The tuning fork test helps to separate conductive hearing loss from sensorineural hearing loss.
Pure tone audiometry checks how well you hear sounds traveling through the ear canal (air conduction) and through the bones (bone conduction). A doctor may be able to figure out what kind of hearing loss you have by comparing how well you hear using these T. types of conduction. You listen to tones through earphones in this test.
Speech reception and word recognition tests check how well you hear and understand speech.
Acoustic immittance tests (tympanometry and acoustic reflex tests) measure the amount of sound energy that "bounces" back from the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and the bones of the middle ear instead of being sent on to the inner ear.
Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing measures the inner ear's response to sound. Otoacoustic emissions are sounds made by the cochlea in response to a sound, such as a tone or click-think of them as a quiet echo. Ear specialists can record and interpret these sounds to help rule out hearing loss. OAE testing is often used to screen newborns for hearing problems.
Depending on the suspected cause of hearing loss, you may also have other tests:

Imaging tests such as a CT scan or MRI may be done when an injury or tumor is suspected.
Auditory brain stem response (ABR) testing may be used to test nerve pathways in the brain if your doctor suspects an acoustic neuroma or another nerve problem. This test measures how well the nerve that helps you hear is working and how fast sound travels along this nerve.
Early Detection

Hearing problems, even those that are mild, can delay your child's speech and language development. Early screening for hearing loss can help prevent a variety of learning, social, and emotional problems that can be related to speech and language development.3 The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all newborns be screened for hearing loss.4 Many states require newborn hearing tests for all babies born in hospitals. Talk to your doctor about whether your child has been or should be tested.

Signs of noise-induced hearing loss are appearing at earlier ages and in children.5 Be sure your child has regular hearing exams.

- Good Luck & God Bless

Hi,

As a Mom, we want to make sure our kids are 100%! I'm surprised your doctor didn't recommend going to an audiologist for a quick hearing professional! There are probably many in your area. The testing is easy and done correctly. Good luck!

Just go ahead and make an appointment with an ENT they can do a full hearing eval and fix the problem if there is one. There is no sense waiting and worrying when you can figure it out now!