Good vision and hearing are vital to a child’s physical development, success in school and overall well-being. Just as important as screening children’s vision is testing for any hearing issues. As the Centers for Disease Control notes, “Hearing screening, especially at an early age, provides the opportunity to detect a student’s hearing loss or previously unrecognized hearing loss and intervene to limit the further loss and improve learning.”
Parents may not realize the frequency of screening recommendations. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, hearing screening should be conducted:
* At school entry for all children
* At least once at ages 6, 8, and 10
* At least once during middle school
* At least once during high school
* Vision test once per year
* Many children fail in school due to hearing or vision issues that go undetected, because many times these are the last areas that we check. Performing these tests will provide children with the best opportunities to succeed. What is the point of providing these children with the best education possible if they are unable to hear and see the information? Our goal to detect these issues and treat them as soon as possible.