Is your young child having trouble talking? If he or she has yet to reach such an important milestone and is past the average age that children normally are when they begin saying certain words and phrases, there could be an issue going on that you are unaware of. While some children are naturally just late talkers, other children may have a hard time speaking because they are not hearing very clearly. If you do not know if your child hears well or not, ask his or her pediatrician for a referral to visit with an audiologist.

Improved Hearing Often Leads to Improved Speech

When a child is not hearing as well as most people can hear, the words that are coming out of your mouth and out of the mouths of other people may not sound the same to your child. When those words sound like they are jumbled up and blended together, the little one will say the words the way that he or she is hearing them being said, which could be the main reason why your little one still says a lot of gibberish instead of real words despite getting older and being around plenty of people who are talking. Improved hearing often leads to an improvement in the way a person talks. If it turns out that your child does have a hearing issue, an audiologist can find out, recommend treatment, and make sure the little one starts hearing sounds so much clearer than before.

Get the Hearing Test to Find Out If It the Hearing is an Issue

A hearing test is performed on children who may have difficulty hearing certain sounds. Most audiologists like to make the testing fun for children, attempting to turn it into a bit of a game by asking the child to grab the toy or item that they are hearing in the headphones they are wearing. If a child is unable to identify most of what is being said, there could potentially be some hearing loss. If your child is old enough to understand, the audiologist may play certain sounds and have words recited while asking him or her to raise a hand or press a button upon hearing those different noises.

Hearing loss can occur in children because of ear infections, genetics, and even because they have been around loud sounds for lengthy periods. If your child is not speaking well, the primary reason for the lack of communication could be due to a lack of hearing. Have a hearing test performed, wait for the results, and then talk to the audiologist about treatments, which may include getting tubes inserted or wearing a hearing device.