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Have your child's hearing checked

(HealthDay News) -- Children need regular hearing tests to help identify any hearing problems before they worsen.

A young girl whispers into her mother's ear.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has issued guidelines for when school-age children should have their hearing examined.

A hearing test should be performed before children start school, and each year beginning with kindergarten through the third grade. The test should be repeated when children are in the seventh and 11th grades.

A hearing test also should be performed if...

If concerns arise about a child's language, speech, learning or hearing capabilities.
a family history of hereditary hearing loss exists, particularly later in life.
there are persistent ear infections (chronic otitis media).
there are problems with the skull or face that may affect hearing, or an injury to the head that rendered the child unconscious.
there are other factors that could lead to hearing loss, such as being exposed repeatedly to very loud noise.