Childrens hearing problems – deaf in one ear
Children who are deaf in one ear should be assessed by an audiologist and an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist to check if anything can be done to correct the deafness.
Some parents, teachers and doctors think that a child who is deaf in one ear will not have any problems at home or at school because the other ear is normal. This may be wrong.
Research which followed up children with one deaf ear found that some of them had problems with:
- Learning to read
- Spelling and writing stories
- Doing maths
- It was found that unless extra help was available from parents, teachers and others, some of them had to repeat classes at school
- Children with deafness in one ear who do not get extra help can feel they are not as clever as their friends are
- This should not occur if these children are given some extra help at home and at school
Parents should take comfort from the fact that not all of these children have problems.