4 year old son

[Jeff Kane]

My son is four years old and has been complaining lately of hearing a "fire engine in his mouth."  When I ask him how he hears this sound, he forms his lips into a circular shape and opens and closes his jaw.  He looks like someone trying to clear their ears when at altitude.  About the same time, he started saying that he couldn't hear the TV when it was at normal volume.  He also walks toward us with his ear aimed at us when we talk to him.  This seems very sudden, as we have not had any inclination of a hearing loss prior.  No complaints of earache either.  Any thoughts or suggestions?  We have already scheduled a visit with the pediatrician.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Mr. Kane,

This certainly sounds like a medical condition, not a psychological phenomenon. After your pediatricia investigates the possibility of, for example, ear and/or sinus infection or some obstruction in the ear, if all appears negative he will likely schedule a consult with an ENT specialist.

Tinnitus, or the sensation of sound in the ear when there is no sound, can be a sign of an ear disorder, but not necessarily. Tinnitus can be caused by something as simple as buildup of ear wax. It is sometimes, but not always, associated with hearing loss.

[Dee]

It will be interesting to see how his doctor visit goes.  Just from my own experience, when my kids weren't hearing very well it was usually from fluid in the ears.  If the fluid gets infected then you may or may not see symptoms.  I can't tell you how many doctors would ask me if they were running a fever or pulling at their ears when I would call to schedule an appt.  The answer was usually "No."  Then I'd bring whoever in and it would either be an infection or fluid in the middle ear.  Of course when they were older they could tell me their ears hurt and by the then it was usually a red hot infection.  When they were young fussiness was usually my only clue.  My youngest son had fluid in his ears without resolving for the first two years of his life and it affected his speech because of the loss of the ability to hear well, but resolved with tubes and speech therapy.  The doctor said it was like when you're underwater and trying to hear.  Of course this may not be the case with your son, but just thought I'd throw this idea your way.

Hope all goes well on your visit.

Dee

[jeff]

Thank you to both prior responders.  You're thoughts are appreciated.  I did take my son to the doctor and was appalled at what took place.  On Monday, I took him to see a family practitioner when his pediatrician could not fit him in the schedule.  I told the doctor basically the same things mentioned in my first post here, he gave him the quick once over and pronounced him fit.  No temporagram (sp?), no hearing test.  I was not satisfied with that sequence of events and scheduled a visit the next day with his pediatrician.  She immediately did a temporagram which was "flat" or not good.  She also did an immediate hearing test which was normal, my son heard all tones.  Also, his eardrums were inverted and pressing against the small bones of the inner ear, causing hearing deficiency.  Gee, what great medical advice I got the first time around!!  Bottom line, his ears are not equalizing pressure due to fluid build-up in the inner ear.  E-myacin (sp?) was prescribed as well as Afrin twice a day.  We are also supposed to try to get him to pinch his nose and try to blow (there is a medical term to describe this procedure but I forgot the name) to relieve the pressure.  Thankfully, I think we're on the road to recovery.