Children develop incredibly quickly. With all of this rapid growth, and the standard amount of chaos that comes along with raising a child, it can be easy to miss new health problems. This is what makes regular screenings and check ups so important.

The board-certified pediatricians at La Grande Family Medicine provide vision and hearing tests for children at our office in La Grande. Learn more about vision and hearing tests and call us at (541) 963-4139 to schedule your appointment today!

Early Warning Signs

Your child has probably already been to several developmental check ups with a pediatrician, as they are recommended at various points during the first few months of a child’s life. By age 3, it becomes advised for your kids to complete these routine visits once a year.

Most congenital ear and eye conditions will likely be detected during these early visits, but sometimes they may not fully present themselves until later in life. It is also entirely possible for a child to acquire a hearing or vision impairment at any time as the result of an injury or infection.

There are also a number of more serious health conditions that can contribute to your child’s poor hearing or vision, which can be identified early on by looking for signs such as:

• Eyes or eyelids of an unusual shape
• Inability to recognize or respond to the faces of familiar people or objects by 3 months of age
• Over-reaching or under-reaching for objects
• Needing to hold materials at an unusual distance in order to see them clearly
• Diminished or nonexistent response to loud noises
• Lack of speech

Approaching School Age

Around age 3, your pediatrician will begin to speak with you more about your child’s hearing and vision. These screenings are meant to make sure that your child is able to learn and develop as expected in the classroom. Once a child begins attending school, it can become clear right away that their hearing or vision abilities are not as they should be.

Even if your child only has minor problems with their hearing or vision, it can impact them in a big way at school. The most common types of ear and eye issues seen in kids include:

• Ringing ears
• Nearsightedness
• Farsightedness
• Feeling a fullness in the ears
• Blurred vision
• Muffled or distorted sounds

Ongoing Examinations

As previously mentioned, it is advised to take your child in for a check up with your pediatrician at least once every year. These typically consist of a general physical, which evaluates the child’s hearing and vision abilities, as well as other common indicators of their development such as height and weight.

Hearing and vision impairments can arise at any point in a person’s life. These can cause a variety of difficulties for anyone, but pose a particular threat to a child’s development if they are not addressed right away.