I’m sorry, what?

Hearing loss affects 3.6 million Australians a year, with a further 1.3 million living with a hearing condition that could have been prevented, so it was great to see Mattel recently announce the launch of a new addition to its Fashionista line, a Barbie with behind-the-ear hearing aids. To accurately portray the hearing aids (which are pink, of course!), Barbie consulted US educational audiologist and hearing-loss advocate Dr. Jen Richardson who has 16 years of experience performing over 12,000 hearing loss interventions with children, to help accurately portray hearing aids for the doll in the Barbie line.

But back to the real people… Kelly Sanders, a Perth mum, is one of the 3.6 million Aussies suffering hearing loss. She was born with hereditary acute hearing which caused her to experience hearing loss when she was seven years old. Growing up was difficult for Kelly as prior to diagnosis she faced issues at school including teachers not understanding why she couldn’t follow directions.

“I’d already been in school for a couple of years when my hearing loss manifested. The teachers thought I was misbehaving or naughty, but I didn’t understand why. I’d get in trouble for little things like colouring in with crayons when we were told to use pencils, things like that. But it turns out I simply wasn’t hearing the instructions.” The teachers were concerned so her parents took her to get her hearing teasted. Once the issue was worked out, she got hearing aids, but as a result she always felt different to her peers, which left her feeling isolated and unable to form close connections.

“I’d only wear one hearing aid and hide it behind my hair to try and look normal. They were huge, massive and I made it so much harder on myself by trying to blend in and be normal. The irony was that most of the people around me didn’t even realise I was deaf.” Whilst chatting with Kelly on the phone, you’d never know she was deaf. But she’s worked with the right teams, especially her audiologist from Audika, to ensure she lives life to the fullest. Eventually hearing aids were not enough, but today, thanks to a Cochlear implant, she’s a bubbly, enthusiastic mum of a 2-year-old boy, and quite hilarious if I’m honest! But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t, and still doesn’t, endure being treated differently. “When I got my cochlear activated I could hear my cats bell for the first time! And when the microwave beeped I had to ask my husband what it was! It was really hard to put an understanding to what I was hearing, but it was amazing.”

• 1 in 4 people globally will be living with hearing loss by 2050, and a further third of those people will live with it untreated. • Globally, one in three (30%) of people associate family history to hearing loss • About 2 in 5 of people with hearing aids feel they have better conversations, 1 in 3 feel more connected to their family, and 25% say there is less stress on their relationship

Knowing that her hearing issues can run in the family Kelly has some anxiety that her son may become deaf one day. But she is comforted in knowing she’s in a great place to support him should the time come. If you have any doubt at all about your baby or child’s hearing, have them tested. The earlier hearing loss is identified, the better for the child’s language, learning and overall development.

Signs that your baby can hear well

• newborn to eight weeks of age – startles or widens their eyes at sudden noises nearby, and is woken or stirred from sleep by noise • eight weeks to four months – looks towards direction of sound, and may quieten while listening • six to 12 months – turns head towards known voices or sounds, starts to babble • 12 to 18 months – knows the names of favourite toys, begins to imitate simple words and sounds • 18 to 24 months – has a small vocabulary of single words, and can understand simple directions such as ‘Give mummy the ball’ • two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half years – has clear speech with a good vocabulary. Some signs that your older child may have trouble hearing include that they: • don’t respond when called • have a dip in school grades (because they can’t hear the teacher) • complain of a ringing sound in their ears (tinnitus) • talk too loudly • watch the television with the volume turned up too high • pronounce words incorrectly • appear inattentive and prone to daydreaming.

Diagnosis of hearing problems in children

If you have any doubt at all about your baby or child’s hearing, have them tested. The type of tests used to diagnose hearing loss depends on the age of the child, but can include:

• objective tests, such as auditory brainstem response testing, which measure the electrical activity in the brain in response to a sound • simple tests such as shaking a rattle nearby and observing the child’s response (behavioural observation audiometry) • tests with an audiometer – a machine that produces sounds such as beeps and whistles. Whether or not the child can hear certain sounds helps to pinpoint their degree of hearing loss • using Sound Scouts, an Australianinvented, online game app test for children.

Hearing defines how we communicate, how we understand one another, and how we connect. When someone has hearing loss, it doesn’t only impact their day-to-day life, it impacts their relationships. This can have an enormous impact on mental health. Audika offers hearing checks, free for people aged 26+, and it’s as easy as booking online. www.audika.com.au