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.'”
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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.
Hearing isn’t the only sense that could use some testing heading into the school year.
Naomi Barber of Specsavers says 45 per cent of kids don’t make annual optometrist visits — something she says is a shame, as cases of myopia — or nearsightedness — continue to climb.
“It’s predicted that by 2050, up to 50 per cent of the population will have myopia, so it’s increasing incrementally year by year,” Barber said.
The symptoms, she said, can be easy to spot — if you know what you’re looking for.
“Squinting, rubbing of the eyes, a bit or irritability, sometimes trouble focusing in the classroom, particularly at a distance.
“Sometimes children won’t realize that they’re not seeing as clearly as some of their peers, perhaps, in the classroom, so it’s really something that can be revealed by a regular eye exam.”
Other eye conditions, like farsightedness, can also be detected with an eye test, and easily treated with glasses.
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