Mipla Binna - Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon

Transcript

David Bell-Allen - ENT Surgeon: Our job initially is to examine the child and examine the results and put forward to the parents, the management plan, which is, complex and long term.

Parent: It's really just a looking appointment. They don't actually do anything to the child at the time.

David Bell-Allen - ENT Surgeon: There is a lot of commitment from all parties involved, so it's a long road and we're just the start of that.

Parent: They've made me feel comfortable and I think that's very important. He spoke to the child in a way that, it was really made the child feel comfortable. Arnold felt that he can play around on the seat and all this and have fun there , and I think at that time too, and that's how he assesses the child as well, while they're doing their own little thing. And so, I feel like I could ask him anything.

David Bell-Allen - ENT Surgeon: There is a a lot of concern at that initial appointment cause all they've been given is a diagnosis. Our job will be to dissect all that for them.

Hearing loss can be temporary and a lot of the kids are coming along now cause we've screened them and we are picking up hearing in loss what we call conduction hearing loss, and that's the result of fluid behind the ear drums. Most cases that will resolve. So as a surgeon, we will not partake in any form of intervention there, apart from a wait and see approach. There are times when those fluids, when the fluid behind the ear drum doesn't resolve the hearing loss persists gently, which we'd sit tight for three, four months but beyond that, we'd like the kids hearing. We may then progress to grommet insertion, which would correct a pure conduction hearing loss.

The other hearing loss generally will be a nerve deafness. Nerve deafness can be a mild, moderate, or severe. It can be one ear or both ears going to the end of the spectrum, if your child has bilateral, which is both ears, profound hearing loss. We live in a world now that we can treat that and treat it early I'm talking cochlear implants.

Other hearing losses may be mild to moderate. These patients would have a number of investigations. They are not surgical cases. They are treatment cases with hearing aids.

That process is instigated pretty well straightaway. We all know that kids who have hearing loss will struggle unless it's identified early, and we will get in and endeavour to aid these mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss patients as early as possible. Essentially, as soon as the diagnosis is made, it's very important that we do this to allow adequate hearing for speech and language development.

Narrator: At your first appointment, the ENT will check if hearing aids can be fitted right away or we'll discuss with you if there's any reason to wait for a while. They'll often order routine tests and may refer your child to other specialists.