As another school year begins many children undergo hearing screenings to determine hearing health at the start of the year. The purpose of hearing screening is to identify students with possible hearing losses which may affect their intellectual, emotional, social, speech, and/or language development. As with most differences or disorders, early identification and intervention is incredibly powerful, and the sooner a hearing loss is caught, the better your childs chances are of not falling behind! Washington state law requires all school boards to provide hearing and vision screenings each year, but what exactly does that mean?
Most basic screens are based on a pass fail system with the sound level set at a certain level (e.g. 25 dB), and any child who is not able to hear at that level is referred for more comprehensive testing. Other screenings may actually find the lowest level at which a child can hear, even after conducting the pass/fail system. It’s important to learn what kind of testing your school uses, and if you have concerns, even if your child passes to seek out further testing, as a very mild loss may still be present.
If you have more questions following your child’s hearing screening we encourage you to read through our hearing section of our website, or call to make an appointment. Our doctors would be more than happy to help explain results received or further test to gain more specific results.