Anyone who thinks that they or their children are losing their hearing should visit a doctor or the nearest Educational Assessment and Resource Center for testing. Newborn babies can be tested within 48 hours of birth. Learn more about how hearing is tested.

If it looks like someone is not normally responding to sound, that person may have hearing loss. Some children, however, can appear to have hearing loss, but actually have other conditions, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some people do not realize they have hearing loss because they are too young to know something is wrong (such as newborn babies) or because it has come on gradually (as with some older people). Hearing tests are just one tool used by doctors to diagnose health problems to do with the ears.

Some types of deafness are permanent. Other types of deafness are temporary, such as problems caused by a build up of earwax or glue ear. For more information, please see Causes of Deafness, and Types of Deafness.

Parents should test their children's hearing immediately. If a child tests for significant hearing loss, parents need to plan early for how they will meet their children's needs. The most important need young children have is language. Early and regular access to language is important for a child's linguistic and mental development. Contact members from the deaf community and consult doctors and audiologists. In order for deaf children to compete fairly with hearing children,  they need to develop their linguistic skills at an early age.