With back-to-school right around the corner, there’s one aspect of preparation for the return to class that many students, parents and teachers don’t consider: a child’s hearing.
Some students may get tagged as using “selective listening” in the classroom, a Winnipeg expert says, but the truth is that they may be struggling to take in what’s being said at all.
“Teachers just don’t think that they’re listening, or parents don’t think that they’re listening, but in reality they aren’t hearing,” Candice Holden of Polo Park Hearing Centre told 680 CJOB’s The Start.
“It’s definitely something to look into if we have some concerns at school.”
Holden said for most people, there are large gaps between when they get tested for hearing issues, and it’s rarely considered for young people — outside of testing in their very early years — although that’s beginning to change.
“People usually get tested when they’re younger and through screenings and such, and then usually it’s not until their 40s, 50s, 60s, that we (think), ‘Maybe I should actually have my hearing checked.’”
The amount of technology kids use on a daily basis, Holden said, may also account for troubles with hearing, especially near-constant headphone use by many young people.
“Just headphones in general … people have stuff in their ears all the time now,” she said.
“Depending on how many hours a day they have them in their ears, or what the volume’s at, that takes an impact too.”
Holden said the hearing centre is starting to see more young people coming in for hearing tests, and suggests getting checked if there are any concerns, as it could be as simple as wax buildup — or something more serious.
