Transcription:

Another informational resource from UK Healthcare. This is UK HealthCast featuring conversations with our physicians and other healthcare providers.

Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to UK HealthCast from the University of Kentucky Healthcare. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. And joining us today is another Caitlin. Dr. Caitlin Fiorillo, a pediatric otolaryngologist at UK Health and is here to tell us more about hearing loss in children. So doctor, what are signs that my child might be experiencing hearing loss?

Caitlin Fiorillo: It really depends on your child's age. There are signs that parents may notice that may indicate hearing loss. And so speech delay is the most common presentation in toddlers and children. Often, this comes as an expressive speech delay, which means parents can ask their child to do something and they seem to listen and respond appropriately. But when it comes to actually forming words and speaking, they fall behind. And so other children may not respond to sound and speech like they should. Often, it seems like the child may be ignoring you. Sometimes you may feel that your child has selective hearing, but in reality, they may truly not be hearing well.

Older children who have learned to speak will often ask for things to be repeated, or they'll say "Huh?" frequently or parents will notice that they'll listen to the TV or electronics very loudly, although that also happens in children that can hear normally as well.

Caitlin Whyte: You touched on this a bit, but what are some signs in my baby, you know, who isn't able to communicate yet?

Caitlin Fiorillo: So the goal is to have all infants screened for hearing loss at birth so that we catch babies in infancy that cannot hear. So any child that does not pass their newborn hearing screen should have a follow-up hearing tests within one month of birth. And that's how we catch those infants with hearing loss early.

But the newborn hearing screen is just that, it's a screen. So some children may be missed or may develop hearing loss later as an infant. And there are signs that parents can look for to indicate hearing loss and those signs include the startle reflex. So when a baby hears a loud sound, they should extend their arms and legs away out from their body. So if that's not present, that could be a sign of hearing loss. This usually lasts until around four months of age. After that point, babies should start turning to sound, begin to recognize voices. And around six months of age, they should start babbling. So, if they're not doing that, then that could be an indication of hearing loss.

Caitlin Whyte: Now, what causes hearing loss in children?

Caitlin Fiorillo: So the cause of hearing loss is numerous, probably a little more than can be discussed in a single podcast. But we often divide it into hearing loss at birth and then what we call acquired hearing loss that developed after birth.

So for those children with acquired hearing loss, the most common reason is for fluid behind the eardrum. And this can cause just even a mild to moderate hearing loss, but in a child, this can substantially impact them when they're trying to develop speech or hear a teacher in school. And fortunately, this type of hearing loss is very treatable.

Other reasons for hearing loss can be from a hole in the eardrum from ear trauma, recurrent infection, certain types of medications, or just the child's genetics, something they were born with.

Caitlin Whyte: Now with all of these different causes of hearing loss, what are the treatments that could help my child? Are any of them nonsurgical?

Caitlin Fiorillo: They are. Yeah. Treatment for hearing loss is completely dependent on what is causing the hearing loss. So establishing the correct diagnosis and cause of hearing loss is essential to providing the correct care. Treatment can range from medications to amplification of sound with hearing aids to surgery. And when deciding the best treatment, each child is unique. And so that decision is based on the individual child and their parents. And I make a plan together after reviewing all the possible options and discussing the risks and benefits of each of those options.

Caitlin Whyte: Taking a child in for any kind of surgery is a bit scary. So if my child does need surgery for their hearing, what does that look like? How long does recovery take? What's the process?

Caitlin Fiorillo: Yeah, that's a really good question. So it depends on what type of surgery they need. As I said before, the most common cause of hearing loss in children is from fluid behind the eardrums. And for that, I would offer placement of ear tubes. This is a very simple procedure. It's the most common procedure that I do. However, it is often the first time that a child is being put to sleep and can definitely cause anxiety. I know as a mother of two boys, I know how it feels to discuss doing any kind of procedure to your child. Fortunately, this procedure takes less than 10 minutes and the recovery period is just a single day. So for children in school or daycare, they can return to their normal activities without any restrictions the next day.

There are other options for hearing loss, if, you know, we have a child that cannot hear at all and gets no benefit from hearing aids, we have options including cochlear implantation, and that can be a much longer kind of process and something that we would prepare parents for after long discussions and kind of workup.

Caitlin Whyte: Now, when it comes down to it, why should I, as a parent, choose UK Healthcare and Kentucky Children's Hospital for my child's hearing issues?

Caitlin Fiorillo: I think at UK, we provide exceptional care. Dr. Azbell, Dr. Iverson and myself are all pediatric ENTs, meaning our patients are only children. And we have all been through an additional year of training at top institutions to be able to manage and take care of complex problems in children.

And with children with hearing loss, that can often require a multidisciplinary approach. So you have our expertise in managing the surgical aspect of their care, but we also have pediatric audiologist that have additional training to work with infants and kids to test their hearing. And for patients that do need surgery, we're fortunate to have an amazing group of pediatric anesthesiologists that are experts in the care of children just before, during and after their surgery.

And then we also have resources, including speech therapy and networks to get children hearing aids and other therapies that they do need for their hearing loss.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you so much for joining us today, doctor, and walking us through this process. You can read more about the Pediatric ENT Department at UK Healthcare's Kentucky Children's Hospital at our website, ukhealthcare.uky.edu. And that wraps up another episode of UK HealthCast with University of Kentucky Healthcare. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all of the other University of Kentucky Healthcare podcasts. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Thanks for listening.