There’s no question that hearing loss can be an obstacle to a child’s education, but hearing aids can help. Before you send your child to school however, you need to make sure that he’s going to be ready. This is especially important if your child has never worn one before or is enrolling in a new school.
Period of Adjustment
A child that has to wear hearing aids all day in school requires a period of adjustment. The hearing aids might also raise questions among the other kids in school so your child might resist wearing it. To prevent problems, the teacher needs to be aware of his condition and that he’s undergoing a transition period.
If his teachers are aware of the situation, the easier it will be for your child to adjust to the sound and feel of the instrument as well as the reactions of the people around him. At this point it’s imperative for your child to understand that hearing aids are important, and you should also ask the teachers to help monitor his usage in school.
Proper Hearing Aid Maintenance
Use parent teacher conferences to spread awareness of hearing aids and how they should be taken care of. Kids being kids, problems will arise when he uses the device at school, and the more your teacher knows about hearing aid troubleshooting, the less likely problems will come up.
You should also give your child a hearing aid care maintenance kit in their bag. The bag should contain a drying container, cleaning brush, earwax removal tool, a battery tester and some extra batteries. This might seem like overkill but you never know when hearing aids will malfunction so it’s better to be safe.
Participating in Other Activities
Just because your child uses hearing aids doesn’t mean he cannot participate in school extracurricular activities. On the contrary, hearing aids make participation easier. While they can participate in events like swimming, football and other sports, make sure they have the proper hearing aid equipment like a drying container, splash guard and sport loop.
Just as you’d inform teachers of your child’s condition, you should do the same with your child’s sporting coaches and trainers. This will allow them to make any necessary adjustments and help with the hearing aid maintenance if required.
Teasing and Bullying
Ask the teachers to be mindful of any teasing that might arise from your child’s use of hearing aids, and that you should be informed in case it happens. If there’s a case of bullying or teasing, talk with your teacher and the bullying child’s parents, who probably have no idea what their child is doing. Usually, a little talk is all that’s needed to settle things.
If you think your child needs a hearing aid, make sure that your child gets a hearing aid prescription. For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com