Hearing or Auditory Sensory Warning Signs

What can I do?; Sensory Warning Signs;Milestones Birth to 24 months; Milestones 2 to 5 years

Oversensitive -- Undersensitive -- Poor Perception and/or Discrimination

Hearing
Overreactive   Avoider
Can't attend certain public events or places due to excessive noise.   Avoids loud noises.
Can't work with background noise.   Holds hands over ears.
Easily distracted by auditory stimuli.   Covers ears in the cafeteria or cannot go into the gym when there are many people in it.
Easily distracted in classroom.   May refuse to go to movie theaters, parades, skating rinks, musical concerts etc.
Distracted by sounds not normally noticed by others; like humming of lights or refrigerators, fans, heaters, or clocks ticking.   May decide whether they like certain people by the sound of their voice.
Over reacts to loud noises or unexpected sounds, like sirens.   Frequently asks people to be quiet; i.e., stop making noise, talking, or singing.
Cries about sounds in environment (e.g., hair dryer).  
Fearful of the sound of a flushing toilet (especially in public bathrooms), vacuum, hairdryer, squeaky shoes, or a dog barking.  

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Hearing
Underreactive   Seeking
Had little or no vocalizing or babbling as an infant.   Makes sounds constantly.
Often does not respond to verbal cues or to name being called.   May frequently make noises just to hear them.
Needs directions repeated often, or will say, "What?" frequently.   Talks self through a task, often out loud.
Seems oblivious within an active environment.   Will often speak louder than is necessary.
Seems to have difficulty understanding or remembering what was said.   Love loud noises, often watch TV and listen to music very loudly.
May fail to recognize a sound that most would find alerting or strong.   Need to listen to music to concentrate.
Appears confused about where a sound is coming from.  
Appears oblivious to certain sounds.  

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Hearing
Poor Perception and/or Discrimination
May be hyper or hyposensitive to sound.
Difficulty pronouncing words.
Difficulty using prepositions.
Difficulty remembering and sequencing multi- step directions.
Difficulty sequencing verbal directions.
May appear inattentive.
May need to make a lot of effort to concentrate.
Short attention span.
Trouble hearing in groups.
Difficulty focussing on foreground sounds and blocking out extra background sounds.

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