We’ve all heard of amblyopia – more commonly known as ‘lazy eye’. It happens when children’s eyes don’t get enough visual stimulation during critical parts of their childhood. The lack of balanced visual signals from the eye to the brain during key developmental periods leads to one eye not seeing as well as the other.

Ears Are Sensitive To Childhood Stimulation

Scientists have now found that a similar experience can happen in our ears. Just like the eyes are sensitive to stimulation during childhood development, so are the ears.

Fluid Buildup Could Be The Problem

In the ears, it’s called amblyaudio. Children often experience a fluid buildup in their middle ear cavity, and this fluid can diminish the audio signals travelling between the ear and the brain. These diminished signals can lead to the weakening of hearing in one ear, and the strengthening of hearing in the other ear. The strong ear then has to work harder to make up for the loss of auditory signals in the weak ear.

Children Could Suffer Permanent Damage

For many children, their auditory cortex can bounce back from this temporary auditory imbalance, and their hearing will return to normal once the fluid buildup is cleared. However, for other children, if the acoustic signal isn’t improved during a critical period of development, they could suffer lasting hearing impairment.

See a Pediatric Audiologist For Help

An experienced pediatric audiologist is your first line of defense in making sure that your child’s hearing is strong, and that it stays that way. Regular hearing tests with an audiologist can map out how well your child hears now, and if there are any changes to the hearing that need attention in the future.

Let one of our experienced pediatric audiologists work with you and your child, to make sure they hear their best now and for the rest of their lives.

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Dr. Ana Anzola, CCC-A, FAAA, ABA Principal

Dr. Anzola received her Doctorate degree in Audiology (AuD) from the Arizona School of Health Sciences, and her Master’s Degree in Audiology and her Bachelor's Degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from Towson University. She has been a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) since 1995, board-certified by the American Board of Audiology (ABA), and certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
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