Founded in 1927 by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), each May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM).
BSHM’s goal is to raise awareness of hearing and speech problems, encourage people to give thought to their own and their family’s speech and hearing, and to seek help if they think there may be a problem.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that approximately 43 million people in the United States suffer from a speech, voice, language, or hearing impairment.
Parents should watch for symptoms of hearing loss in babies, including:
- Doesn’t startle at loud noises
- Does not turn to the source of sounds by age 6 months
- Does not say simple single words like “dada” and “mama” by age 12 months
- Does not turn head when their name is spoken.
- Seems to hear some sounds, but not all sounds.
Symptoms in older children include:
- Delayed speech
- Unclear speech
- Has difficulty following directions
- Often replies in conversation with “what?’ or “huh?”
- Turns the volume on screens higher than normally expected.
A hearing loss in babies and children affects the development of communication, language and social skills. Get your child screened as quickly as possible when you notice symptoms of hearing loss. Timely and professional intervention will help your child overcome hearing deficiencies quickly.
