What’s the worst thing a mom can experience? No, not forgetting your diaper bag when in a yoga class (I’ve been there, trust me it is worst than a Halloween movie), it is your child waking you up screaming and burning with fever.

A month ago, my son complained about his ear hurting and I knew there was something wrong. So I rush to our GP and she prescribes an antibiotic. After two days of taking the antibiotic, my son was still complaining of his ears hurting and he still had a fever. I called my GP and she reassured me that it’s all normal and it was still early for the antibiotics to actually start working. On the third day however, I went to our GP again; the antibiotics she prescribed were just not working. But what I was about to find out was much worse than that. My GP told me that the pressure caused by the buildup of fluids behind the eardrum caused the tympanic membrane of my son’s ears to rupture. The ruptured eardrum could result in a hearing loss for my son. As they say, when it rains, it pours.

I started to cry almost hysterically. My little Spider-man could be having a hearing problem. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? No, no, no. When the doctor finally did calm me down, she explained that she needed to perform further exams to really confirm her suspicions. She recommended an audiologist Melbourne specialist in our area and explained that they will test and determine how much the rupture eardrum had affected my son’s hearing.

Of course we did all the exams and I can’t describe how relieved and happy I was when the audiologist told me that my son’s hearing loss was temporary and that his normal hearing will return once the eardrum heals. But unfortunately, that is not the reality of every mum. While I was there, in the audiologist Melbourne center I mean, I saw many mums with kids that actually have hearing problems. Yes, kids can also have hearing problems. Although it is a more common issue related to aging, it can also happen to children as well.

Did you know that a child who cannot hear well may have a hard time developing language skills and learning to talk? And recognizing the signs of hearing loss as early as possible is important to prevent and direct any concerns. If you think your child may have a hearing problem (and mums know this stuff), you should start taking the right steps as soon as possible to help your kid hear better. The best person to see for a hearing problem is an audiologist; you should be able to find one that you will trust and feel comfortable to bring your kid to.

You will be nervous (I know I was) but don’t worry, audiologists are used to that and will carefully explain the exams and tests that need to be done, so you can understand the process (that is how it was with me). And relax, vising an audiologist will not hurt your kid, it can only make him/her feel better. My boy was pretty comfortable there.

The hearing tests are designed to show if your child has any hearing issues. The problem can affect one or both ears. Fortunately, there are numerous treatments for children who experience hearing loss and the most common ones are hearing aids. These tiny devices feature microphones and are designed to make sounds louder so that the person with hearing loss could hear them clearer. I also read that children with hearing problem can get other types of help; they can go to special schools, where all kids have hearing issues, or might go to regular schools and get an extra help when necessary. But whether in school or out of school, these children should get speech therapy to help them with talking and understanding others.

Yes, I did read up a lot on the subject. I wanted to know my options, God forbid my son does experience permanent hear loss. Luckily for us, it was just a temporary matter and everything did go back to normal once my son’s eardrum healed. He is a happy child again and plays, laughs, jumps and saves the toys Spider-man style. I can’t say the same for myself. Even though I know he is doing just fine, I am constantly in fear that it may happen again.