The Portland Hospital
205-209 Great Portland Street W1W 5AH London
PAEDIATRIC HEARING AND BALANCE
Caring for your child’s hearing and balance
- The UK’s largest private provider of hearing services
- Dedicated to caring for children and babies
- A safe and reassuring environment
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PAEDIATRIC HEARING AND BALANCE AT HCA UK
Why choose us?
It’s very common for babies and children to have recurring ear problems like infections or middle ear effusion (glue ear) and it’s usually nothing to worry about. But if your child has more serious symptoms or you’re concerned about their hearing or balance in any way, then we’re here to listen and help.
Our experienced audiologists can diagnose and treat a wide range of hearing and balance problems in children and babies. We’ll make sure your child gets the specific, one-on-one care they need.
Paediatric audiology and audio-vestibular medicine (paediatric AVM) is a specialist branch of medicine that specifically deals with hearing and balance problems in babies and children up to the age of 18. Put simply, the audiology part deals with hearing, and the audio-vestibular part deals with how the ear affects balance. It’s a complex field and our specialists diagnose and treat a wide range of issues, but common problems can include hearing loss, tinnitus, difficulty processing sound, vertigo and dizziness. Your child might be treated by a multi-disciplinary team, including GPs, audiology consultants and psychologists, depending on their condition.
Children often get distracted or don’t pay attention, and every child learns to speak and respond at their own pace. But there are some symptoms of potential hearing and balance problems that might be worth investigating if they’re happening a lot or causing noticeable impact on your child.
- Frequently saying ‘what’ or asking for repetition
- Always wanting the TV or other audio louder than seems normal
- Mishearing words, mispronouncing words or having trouble with words they should know
- Trouble responding to their name, or not noticing when people speak to them
- Struggling to hear against background noise, or when there’s lots of voices talking at once
- Speaking very loudly, or having a monotone voice
- Frequently losing their balance
Many of these symptoms naturally happen as part of a child’s development. None of them are definitive signs of problems or cause for alarm, and children’s hearing issues are often temporary. But if you do have concerns, you can get in touch with our audiology team any time and they’ll talk you through your options and any next steps.
Every child is different, and there’s a wide range of tests and treatments available for multiple conditions, but these are some of the more common procedures:
Hearing loss assessment – Our audiologists can use age-appropriate hearing tests to work out if your child has any hearing loss, what type of loss and how serious it might be. They’ll give you a full, clear explanation of the results and talk you through treatment options.
Children often have temporary hearing loss because of middle ear effusion (Otitis media) or glue ear, when sticky fluid builds up inside their ear. Our Paediatric ENT specialists can monitor and manage your child’s hearing loss, and they might recommend surgically inserting small plastic tubes called grommets in their ears.
Assessing and rehabilitating balance issues - If your child has balance problems, they might be caused by an inner ear condition such as labyrinthitis, vestibular neuronitis or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). You can find out more about these conditions at the bottom of this page.
Our paediatric audio vestibular physicians (AVPs) can assess your child to see if they have an inner ear condition, and if they need further tests or rehabilitation to help with their balance.
Testing for auditory processing disorder (APD) - If your child struggles to distinguish between sounds or to understand speech in noisy environments, they might have APD. It’s a hearing condition that makes it hard for their brain to interpret sounds correctly.
We can assess your child to see if they have APD from the age of seven, and our specialist Audio Vestibular Consultant can diagnose and manage their condition.
Cochlear implants - If your child has severe hearing loss, cochlear implants can make a huge difference. They stimulate the nerves in your child’s inner ear, which restore some of their hearing, and they’re more effective than acoustic hearing aids. The implants are small devices that are surgically placed under your child’s skin, behind their ear.
Next-day appointments
Access to a consultant within 24 hours
State-of-the-art diagnostics
With results in as little as 48 hours
Putting your child's needs first
Our complete breadth of expertise focused on your child
Location
Where can my child see someone?
When your child needs help with hearing or balance issues, we’re here for them – and you – at world famous The Portland Hospital, the UK’s only private hospital dedicated to the treatment of women and children.
Accessing private health care
Self-pay
You don’t need health insurance for your child to be seen quickly. If you’re looking for a diagnosis or treatment and don’t want to wait, all of our private healthcare services – from private GP appointments through to surgery and aftercare – can be paid for as and when you need them.
And we’ll give you a clear and transparent quote from the start, outlining exactly what’s included in your self-pay package.
Paediatric audiology and audio vestibular medicine FAQ
Our consultants have decades of experience treating babies and small children, so they know how to make your child feel safe. They’ll have a warm, friendly chat with you both to ask about how they’re developing, hear your concerns and discuss any symptoms you’ve noticed.
It’s designed with children in mind, so there’s no need for your child to ‘perform’, and it’s fine if they wriggle around or get distracted. They’ll never be asked to do anything scary or uncomfortable.
Your consultant will do some child-friendly hearing tests that might involve playing sounds to look for reactions, or some listening games where your child touches a toy or pushes a button.
They might gently use tools to check inside your child’s ears or see how well their eardrum is working too.
After any tests or examinations, they’ll take time to explain what they’re found and what the next steps might be in terms of tests or treatment.
Balance problems are often caused by conditions that affect the inner ear. They can include:
Labyrinthitis – It’s an infection where the fluid-filled canals in your child’s inner ear get inflamed, which affects their hearing and balance.
Vestibular neuronitis – The vestibular nerve is in your child’s inner ear, and it carries signals from their ear to their brain. If it gets inflamed, those signals can get disrupted and cause dizziness, vertigo and nausea.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) - This is one of the most common causes of vertigo and it can make your child feel like they’re spinning or whirling when they move their head. It’s often caused by tiny crystals in their inner ear becoming dislodged which creates a false sense of movement when your child changes their head position.
No. Parents often get referred to us by a GP or a paediatrician, but you can self-refer at any time and have your child seen by our specialist consultants.
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This content is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.