Pediatric Audiology

Expert hearing testing and treatment for children of all ages, including cochlear implant evaluation and hearing aid services

Hearing loss interferes with a child’s brain development, can affect communication development, and can also affect everything from school performance to social relationships and emotional well-being. Our pediatric audiologists provide evaluation and treatment for children with hearing loss and hearing disorders to help them hear and communicate to the best of their ability.

Your child’s hearing can be tested at any age, including as a newborn. The earlier hearing loss is detected, the greater the chance for normal auditory brain development. Early diagnosis and treatment also improves your child's ability to develop his or her language and communication skills despite any hearing loss.

As part of a comprehensive medical program based at a pediatric hospital that provides advanced, specialized care, our pediatric audiologists are experienced in treating complex cases, and recognize how hearing loss affects your child’s overall development.

The Johns Hopkins All Children's pediatric audiology program uses state-of-the-art equipment to provide a battery of hearing tests. With a team of audiologists serving patients in a number of locations, we’re often able to provide multiple evaluations at one time for our patients with complex conditions.

We offer a wide range of hearing screening and evaluation services for children of all ages including:

Assistive device demonstration and dispensing
Central auditory processing disorder evaluation
Cochlear implant program
Hearing aid evaluation, fitting and repair
Hearing evaluations including auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing
Infant hearing screening

Signs of hearing loss in children

Hearing loss can have a variety of causes. These include chronic ear infections, genetic conditions, birth defects and other health problems at birth, certain drugs, head injuries, viral or bacterial infections, exposure to loud noise, and tumors.

Infants and toddlers with a hearing problem may:

Have had several ear infections
Not always respond to sounds
Not be startled by sudden loud noises
Seem to have speech and language problems

School-age children with a hearing problem may:

Frequently ask people to repeat words or phrases
Have had several ear infections
Misunderstand or be confused about what someone says
Not hear the telephone or doorbell ring
Play music or TV too loud

Learn more about types of hearing loss.

Evaluation and treatment

We offer a variety of hearing evaluations, and often use a variety of tests as part of your child’s evaluation depending his or her age, developmental level, and the signs and symptoms of hearing loss he or she presents. The audiologists at Johns Hopkins All Children’s can:

Determine if your child has a hearing problem and identify the type of problem or disorder
Recommend how to make the best use of your child’s remaining hearing
Help select and fit the hearing aid that will best meet your child’s needs
Demonstrate and teach you and your child how to use a hearing aid effectively

Our audiologists are skilled in working with children of all ages, including newborns, and those with special needs to provide an accurate diagnosis of hearing loss.

Learn more about hearing evaluations.