Speech Delays and Language Concerns

 Back to:  Therapist Questions & Answers - Speech & Language Concerns

During a routine hearing evaluation my 4 yrs, 5 month old daughter was found to have some hearing loss to both ears. A follow up evaluation at 4 yrs, 11 months stilled showed a "borderline normal" hearing loss to the right ear and a "mild hearing loss at low frequency" to the left ear. She has normal middle ear function (tested at 5 months and again at 11 months with the same results). With language development she was found to have difficulty with k, ch, and g like sounds. What might be the cause of her low frequency hearing loss? Should I seek additional care from a pediatric specialist?

It sounds like your daughter has had a hearing/language screening. If she has not been seen by a pediatric audiologist we recommend she be seen by one. They will do a complete evaluation and be able to further explain her hearing loss.

Some possible reasons for a mild low frequency hearing loss could be hereditary/genetic or viral infections. You noted she is having difficulty with k, g and ch sounds. These sounds are not considered low frequency sounds, vowel sounds are in the lower frequency. A common difficulty for children with mild to moderate hearing loss is leaving end sounds off words (final consonant deletion) and omission/distortion of blends, fricatives (f,th,s,v,sh,z) and affricates (ch,j). If your daughter has not had an evaluation by a certified speech language pathologist I would recommend that also. The speech pathologist and audiologist would work well together to determine a plan that is most appropriate for your daughter.

Back to:  Therapist Questions & Answers - Speech & Language Concerns

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