Hearing Aids in Children

Abstract

In this article the usefulness of auditory protheses in the treatment of deaf children is discussed. Two points of view concerning the age at which this treatment should be applied are currently under discussion. The first advocates treatment around 3-4 years of age. Prior to that age, the prosthesis may be useless or unlucky, because the exact auditory level cannot be established and thus the choice of a proper prosthesis is not thougt possible. The second opinion holds that treatment should begin as early as feasible. This opinion is based on evidence which suggests that earlier treatment aids considerably in attaining normal development in the deaf child. Both schools agree that correction of audition must be made before the child reaches the school age. Any retardation existing at that age is very difficult to reverse and the important first years of a child's education can be lost if hearing defects persist. The child, who can understand words only by reading lips, is often no longer interested in the sound of the langage and does not respond to subsequent treatment. He has become used to living in a silent world and has no special desire to leave it.