Many parents worry about their child's hearing, especially when the child is too young to communicate verbally. Usually there is no need for concern, but it's comforting to know that hearing may be evaluated at any age.

Hearing is a critical part of a child's development. Even a mild or partial hearing loss can affect a child's ability to speak and to understand oral language. The earlier hearing loss is detected, the sooner a child may be helped.

How Do We Hear?
The outer ear picks up sounds and passes them to the middle ear through the eardrum. Three small bones (the hammer, anvil, and stirrup bones) vibrate with the sound, passing the vibrations to the inner ear. In the cochlea in the inner ear, the vibrations are changed into electric signals that move along the nerves to the brain.