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| Home / News / Speech News / | ||
| Ear Infections And Speech Development | ||
| Ear infections are one of the most common illnesses
in children between the ages of birth and three years. If fluid collects
in the
middle ear area, sounds cannot be conducted properly. As a result,
children with ear infections often experience what is called a conductive
hearing loss. Once the ear infection is over and the fluid has drained, the child's hearing usually returns to normal. Some children, however, have recurrent, chronic ear infections, and thus may experience a fluctuating conductive hearing loss over long periods of time. As a result, the young child with recurrent ear infections hears muffled or distorted sounds much of the time. This can seriously interfere with that child's ability to develop clear speech, if the ear infections are occurring regularly between the ages of twelve months to three years. Children who do not hear sounds clearly will not be able to say them clearly. Additional problems that may develop in children who are experiencing recurrent ear infections include difficulty focusing and maintaining attention; frustration at not fully understanding what people are saying; failing to learn grammatical endings on words such as -ed for past tense or -s for plurals, as these sounds are often difficult to hear; and a loss of self-confidence or self-esteem. If ear infections are treated quickly and effectively, the negative effects on speech and language development will be minimized. If your child is subject to recurrent, chronic ear infections, try the following procedures to keep her communication skills developing normally:
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