children s health issues
Ear Defects
Diagnosis of Ear Defects
A doctor's evaluation Hearing tests Imaging tests of the skull Sometimes genetic testing Doctors can identify many ear defects during a physical examination. Doctors do Screening and Diagnosis to see whether hearing is affected and also do imaging tests of the skull to look for problems with the bones. A baby who has birth defects of the ear may be evaluated by a geneticist. A geneticist is a doctor who specializes in genetics (the science of genes and how certain qualities or traits are passed from parents to offspring). Genetic testing of a sample of the baby's blood may be done to look for chromosome and gene abnormalities. This testing can help doctors determine whether a specific genetic disorder is the cause and rule out other causes. 