One of the most recurring infections in children is ear infection. Especially if the infection is in the middle ear, then there is bound to be some effect on the speech.
Ear infection in children influences their speech in a negative way and cause the auditory pathways in the brain problems.
Middle Ear Infection: When a child is suffering from middle ear infection, he/she would develop a kind of fluid in the cavity of the middle ear. The development of this fluid obstructs the hearing of the child or may sometimes even lead to a temporary loss of hearing.
- The presence of fluid in the ear compels the child to perceive muffed or inaudible sounds of the surrounding environment. Upon healing, the fluid automatically drains away and normal hearing is restored.
- But, in case this problem is recurring, the child’s auditory processors in the brain are improperly developed. This would lead to both hearing and speech problems.
Ear Infection In Children Influences Their Speech: The child’s inconsistent patterns of hearing have an adverse effect on the speech too.
- The speech produced by us, is due to the sounds our ear processes. Once a person loses a grip on his/her hearing, he would not know if he is being too loud or too soft. We even experience this in our day-to-day lives when our ears are plugged to our ipods. We tend to speak loudly because we are unable to hear if speak in a low voice.
- Similarly in a child with frequent infection troubles, the speech and language development would be atypical or asymmetric since the child’s auditory and speech articulators are still developing.
A child’s listening and speaking abilities are in a developing stage during their first two years and this is when they are most affected with these infections. So, it is important that parents keep a check on the child’s ears. If they discover that the ear infection in children is influencing their speech, then consulting a speech therapist straight away is very necessary.
