How to care for the hearing of infants and young children?

1. It is important to clean your ears correctly

The outer surface of the ear is in direct contact with the external environment, and it is almost always "baptized" by sand, dust and polluted air. In addition, children often spit up milk and sweat, which may stick to the ears and form lumps. Therefore, parents should pay attention to washing the baby's ears as much as paying attention to washing the face.

Cleaning method: First rub the baby shower gel into the foam on the hands, then gently rub the back of the ears and auricles with your fingers like a massage, and finally wipe clean with wrung gauze. At the entrance of the ear, use a cotton tampon made of sterile cotton to wipe gently, and be careful not to insert it into the ear canal casually to prevent the child's head from moving suddenly and causing the ear canal mucosa to be injured; when the child is older, he should be taught to clean it by himself , And check and supervise at any time.

2. Knowing earwax has a coup

Earwax, commonly known as earwax, is a light yellow viscous substance secreted by the cerumen glands of the external auditory canal. It is called cerumen in medicine. Some parents treat this kind of secretions, nasal discharge, and eye feces on the same basis as waste, which must be removed first and then settled. In fact, this is not right. Because earwax has a certain physiological function, it will become flakes or sticky grease when it encounters dry air. It is "on duty" in the external auditory canal. It can not only block the invasion of dust and small insects, but also buffer noise and prevent the outside world. The inflow of water can also inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria, which can be called the "flower protector" of the tympanic membrane and the external auditory canal.

In addition, the skin of the external auditory meatus of a child is different from that of an adult. It is more delicate and tightly connected with the perichondrium, less subcutaneous tissue, and poor blood circulation. If you dig out with tools at will, such as toothpicks, matchsticks, ear picks or even hairpins, it is easy to cause injury, infection, and induce swelling, inflammation, and ulceration of the external auditory canal, and even cause unbearable ear pain, affecting mouth opening and chewing.

Earwax can fall off and be discharged on its own with chewing, mouth opening or yawning, as well as the movement of the jaw and other joints. Of course, if the secretion is too much and a yellowish-brown oil is formed, or the ear is blocked and hard, making the child feel uncomfortable or hearing loss, it needs to be dealt with. But you should ask a doctor for help, and don't act blindly by yourself, so as not to harm your baby.

3. Clever handling of foreign objects in the ear

The child’s ear canal is inherently very narrow. If you accidentally get something in, the consequences are very dangerous. Parents should keep a high degree of vigilance and know some first aid measures in case of danger.

If it is food, such as peas, peanuts, corn kernels, etc., once inserted into the ear, it is easy to puncture the eardrum, or cause permanent damage. At this time, the child should be asked to tilt his head to encourage foreign objects to fall out by gravity. If not, take the child to the hospital immediately.

Crayons are the easiest stationery to plug into the ears and can cause temporary hearing loss or mild infections. When this happens, parents should not rush to do it on their own, and should immediately seek help from a doctor.

If an insect flies or crawls into the child’s ear, there are three ways: one is for the adult to lift the child’s helix back and upwards with his hand, straighten the ear canal, and tilt his head to the side of the insect to make the foreign body in the ear. Slide out; second, shine a flashlight into the ears, and most insects will fly towards the light; third, drop a few drops of baby moisturizer into the child’s ears to let the insects flow out with the oil.

4. Regular hearing check

Before the full moon, 3 months and 6 months, at least one hearing test should be done at each stage. The hearing test before the full moon is mainly to find out whether the baby has hearing loss; when the child is 3 months old, take a check to make sure that the child does not have any hearing problems. Once the problem is found, the type and severity of the problem can be understood in time; 6 months It is also necessary to have a checkup every time. If there is hearing loss, as long as the treatment is timely, the language ability and learning ability can be remedied

The entire examination requires the child to be in a deep sleep state, and parents need to:

a. Before coming to the hospital, try to let the child sleep less. On the way to the hospital, don't let the child sleep 2 hours before arriving at the hospital, and play with him more;

b. It is necessary to take medicines (chloral hydrate) to aid sleep before the examination. For medication needs, do not feed your child within 1 hour before the medication;

c. Bring a blanket for your child to sleep.