Am I right to think this is fine?

[nwmum]

Last week my ds? teacher mentioned that since they have moved to a phonics decoding scheme it is noticeable that he cannot hear the final sound in a word. We have spent the last week doing some extra worksheets and playing word games on the computer. However, he is still struggling although it appears to be coming. Last night we read a Ladybird Phonics book, when he came to a word he didn?t know e.g. splat I encouraged him to sound it out he did and then got the word. Two or three times he said I did the words in my head. At the end, he said I can?t do it without the words as he couldn?t hear the sounds at the end.
I have also being putting ear drops in every night as he seems to have a lot of ear wax and we are going to see the GP tonight.
I have also noticed he has suddenly developed some confusion over letters b and d. I am having a quick chat with his teacher tonight. My personal feelings (I could be wrong), are that for a 4.5 year old he is doing really well and I would rather she didn?t make a big thing at the moment about not getting the sounds as he can work it out with the word present and I don?t want him upset saying he can?t do it. What do you think?

[mrsruffallo]

It's probably worth getting his ears checked out but I don't think he is doing too badly at all.
The b and d confusion is quite common at this age, it just takes time

[SoupDragon]

Is she making a big thing about him not getting the sounds? It only seems as if she was drawing your attention to a potential hearing problem.

b and d confusion is perfectly acceptable at this age though.

[nwmum]

Yes, she is making a thing notes three times last week plus extra worksheets

[OooohWhatAFuss]

She may have been pro-active in case you had been a parent who would complain if they noticed this and the teacher had not drawn attention to it. Have a chat with her and she will know that you are aware of the situation and fine with letting things take their time.

[Bucharest]

Everyone "hears" the last sound in a word less than they "hear" the first ones because more spoken emphasis is given to the beginning of a word. (think about how we actually say, for example, the word "splat" normally, not emphatically, much more ooomph on the spl rather than the t.)

I wouldn't be overly concerned tbh, (I know you aren't ) Let the teacher carry on if she really thinks there is an issue, but I'd say for 4.5 he is doing fine.

[MattSmithIsNotMyLoveSlave]

If he actually has a hearing problem then the sooner it's identified the better. It sounds as though any problem there is (and he may be hearing perfectly normally) may just be down to wax buildup, though, so nothing to fret about at this stage. If a child is repeatedly saying "I can't hear [whatever]" and that's potentially supported by his work then it's responsible of the teacher to alert the parents, I think.

[PlanetEarth]

My mother, who was a teacher of the deaf, says that missing the ends of words can be down to a hearing problem, so you might want to get his hearing checked out.

[Lizcat]

I grew up partially deaf till I was 10 years old due to glue ear and the ends of the word were exactly what I couldn't hear. So yes I would get his ears checked to make sure.
The b and d thing is very common in reception and year 1, my DD still struggles with it.