Practical Tips for Helping Family Members Who Wear Hearing Aids

Practical Tips for Helping Family Members Who Wear Hearing Aids

You usually don’t want to wear something on your face or head for extended periods of time unless you need to. Whatever that thing is, it interferes with your normal activities.

This is also true for wearing a hearing aid. Although a hearing device helps you hear better, it feels strange to have something dangling in one of your ears. Most adults are able to adjust and adapt to it, but when it comes to small children, it becomes a huge problem.

So, how can you help a family member who needs to wear a hearing aid? Here are some practical tips on how to encourage them to do so.

Helping Small Children Wear Hearing Aids

A small child, especially if he is under three years old, will try to take out the hearing aid especially on the first few times that this gadget is attached to his ears.  To avoid such problems, here’s what you need to do:

1. Use a hair tape to attach the hearing aid to his ear.
2. Hook a string, cord, clip, fish line or a loop to hold the hearing aid in place and attach the other end to the child’s dress.
3. Buy an Ear Gear which is a loop and locked case system.
4. Encourage the child to keep wearing his hearing aid.
5. If he is about to rip off his hearing aid, divert his attention by using his toys. Do this each time he is bothered by the device and he will be able to get used to wearing it.

Helping Adults Wear Hearing Aids

Tell them about the advantages of seeing an audiologist for a hearing aids prescription. It is better for them to buy a hearing device based on the hearing aids prescription that the audiologist or the ENT expert has recommended.

1. Don’t expect them to use their hearing aid correctly right after buying it. It takes time for them to get adjusted to the feeling of having a foreign object attached to their ears.
2. Help them in adjusting the tightness of the fit, and the volume level of the hearing aid. If your family member is really old, he might not be able to adjust the controls of his hearing device properly.
3. When you are speaking with him, direct your voice towards his hearing device. But don’t stay too close because the loud volume may startle him.
4. In the first few days, just ask him to wear it for several minutes a day. Then gradually increase the length of time, until he is able to adjust with the sounds that he hears through the hearing aid.

Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aids Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com

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