My 6-year old ... any ideas?

[hokypoky]

My DD has been complaining on and off for about 4-6 months, that sounds are repeated in her head. For instance, sometimes when she watches t.v. or like tonight, I was reading a book to her. She suddenly got frustrated, grabbed her head, and said, "Ugh! They keep repeating!" It doesn't happen a lot, but it's like once she starts thinking about it, she can't stop. Almost like she'll hear me say something and then hears it again in her head.

I've searched for anything possible on the web, but only came up with hearing voices ... I don't think it's like that. This forum always ends up being the best resource! Any thoughts?

 

[upperwests]

Hi Valerie,
I'm a first grade teacher! I had one student last year who complained to her mom about the same thing. I had no idea myself this was happening until I called the mom in for a conference. I was concerened about her daughter because she seemed to be displaying classic Attention Deficit Disorder symptoms. She was a very, very bright child who was also extremely creative and talented. Her mom told me that she couldn't get the sounds/voices out of her head. Does your DD have any attention issues?

 

[queenmaynie]

Valerie,

This happened to one of my kids years ago. You might want to have the doctor check for inner ear fluid. It may not be fluid that is visible to him right away, but it is inside way in the middle of the tube/canal somewhere... My son was very little and is now 15 so I can't remember exactly the situation, but I know he was on an antibiotic for months and then needed tubes in his ears. Just a thought. I do remember him telling me he had an echo though.

Hope she gets help and feels better soon!

 

[dss62467]

That's odd. My daughter (who is almost 7) said to her father that she hears "ghosts" in her head. I asked her about it and she says she hears them all the time, but I've never seen her react like your daughter. She doesn't seem bothered by it, so I told her it was just her conscience. The, of course, I had to try to explain what THAT meant.

I wonder if it could be fluid in her ears. Now I'm thinking a trip to the pediatrician might be in order. Keep us updated if you take your daughter to the doctor, I'd be very interested to hear the diagnosis.

Because my daughter hasn't said anything about it in a few weeks, I'm not too worried.

 

[thebrain]

I have a six year old daughter too, and we've been going through some issues with her. She has been, on and off, displaying Obsessive/Compulsive behaviors, one of which has been "voices." We started with the pediatrician to rule out medical causes and have been getting her evaluated with a psychologist. My husband and I have been doing a ton of reading on the subject and we've learned so much, the most important thing being that kids can really be taught to make the behaviors go away! Anyway, it may indeed be an inner-ear thing, but the "voices" was something that we heard from my daughter as well!

 

[hokypoky]

Wow! I knew there'd be people here with some insight! Thank you so much ...

I haven't noticed (nor has her kindergarten teacher) any attention issues. She seems to do very well in school - she's probably better behaved in the classroom than at home!

The inner ear fluid idea intrigues me because she seems to have a lot of issues with sleeping, colds, etc. I wonder if that would be related. Actually, I think her breathing is sometimes the cause for her night terrors (another fun phase!). I think I will make an appointment with her pediatrician.

My husband and I also wondered about the obsessive/compulsive thing, if only because we're display a bit of OCD, too. Sometimes I wonder who doesn't!

I'll let you all know what I find out ... I really appreciate the ideas. It gives me a place to start.