Hearing loss is a condition that causes your child not to hear as well as they should. Some children are born with hearing loss while others can develop it later in life.

Hearing loss can happen in any part of the ear. This includes the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Hearing loss can happen in one or more parts of the ear. Each type of hearing loss has different treatment options.

Conductive Hearing Loss

This is when sound cannot get through the outer or middle ear. Conductive hearing loss makes sounds quieter. The amount of hearing loss and the treatment depend on the cause. Common causes include:

• Problems with outer or middle ear.
• Damage to the eardrum.
• Fluid or infection in the middle ear. 

Conductive hearing loss can be short-term or permanent. Medicine or surgery may treat short term hearing loss. Hearing aids or other amplification devices are suggested for permanent hearing loss.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

This is a permanent hearing loss in the inner ear. Some people are born with this hearing loss. For other people, the hearing loss happens sometime after birth. Sensorineural hearing loss may get worse over time. 

Sensorineural hearing loss can range from mild to profound. It can cause sounds to be quieter and less clear. This type of hearing loss cannot be treated by medicine or surgery. Children with sensorineural hearing loss are often helped by hearing aids or other systems that make sounds louder. Some children with more severe sensorineural hearing loss may be helped by a cochlear implant. 

Mixed Hearing Loss

A mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. 

Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD)

This is a hearing problem between the organ of hearing and the auditory nerve or with the auditory nerve itself. The signals are not sent to the brain all the time. The signals are not always clear. There are many different causes of ANSD.

The amount of hearing problems each person with ANSD has is different and can change over time.

• Some people have little or no difficulty hearing.
• Some people say they can hear but not understand, especially with background noise.
• Some people have changing hearing abilities. They report good-hearing days and bad-hearing days.
• Some people with ANSD cannot hear at all.

For people with ANSD, hearing is tested in the sound booth. This tells us the softest level your child hears different sounds. This can first happen when a child is six months old. It may take several appointments to get this information. For some children, it takes a long time to get test results.

Once we know how your child hears, we can make recommendations.

• For children who hear in the mild to moderately-severe hearing loss range, we suggest a trial with hearing aids.
• For children who hear in the severe to profound hearing loss range, we recommend a trial with hearing aids. We also will make a referral to the cochlear implant team.
• A child may move from wearing a hearing aid to being a cochlear implant candidate. This happens if they make poor progress in speech or speech understanding while using hearing aids.

For children with ANSD in one ear, there may be different recommendations.

• Hearing evaluations and re-evaluations
• Electrophysiological evaluations
• Auditory Brainstem response test (ABR)
• Auditory Steady State Response Test (ASSR)
• Cortical Auditory Evoked Potential studies – Milwaukee Campus only
• Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential Testing
• Otoacoustic Emissions (Distortion product and transient evoked)
• Acoustic Immittance measurements (tympanometry, acoustic reflex threshold, and reflex decay)
• Custom ear plugs
• Ear molds
• Inpatient diagnostic and screening hearing evaluations – Milwaukee Campus and Fox Valley NICU
• Newborn Hearing Screens
• Evaluation and fitting of hearing aids and other amplification devices (inpatient and outpatient)
• Hearing aid orientation
• Hearing aid verification (Real ear measurements (on ear and simulated), ANSI testing, electroacoustic analysis)
• Hearing aid validation (aided testing, hearing questionnaires)
• Auditory processing disorder evaluations – Kenosha, Appleton, and Milwaukee locations only
• Parent counseling and parent teaching
• Misophonia treatment/counseling- Greenfield and Milwaukee locations only
• Tinnitus retraining therapy- Kenosha location Only
• Cochlear Implant evaluations – Greenfield location only
• Cochlear Implant mapping – Greenfield location only
• Cochlear Implant counseling – Greenfield location only

Children’s Wisconsin audiologists are specialized in pediatric care, with many being board certified in pediatric audiology. Our audiology team practices evidence based best and safest care and we work closely with ear, nose, and throat physicians for comprehensive care. The Children’s Wisconsin audiology is at the forefront of innovative and evidence-based care for all patients and their families

For more information about our audiologists, please see the Master’s Family Speech and Hearing website.