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
Getting the Most Out of Hearing Aids
So you’ve finally decided to buy hearing aids, and that’s good, because it will make a huge difference in terms of what you can and can’t hear. However, you’ll only benefit from the hearing aids if you use them properly. If it’s your first time to use them, here are some tips to help you out.
Go to a Hearing Healthcare Professional
This is the first thing you should do, and in fact you should do this before you buy. The reason is a hearing healthcare professional has the tools and training necessary to diagnose your condition and the gravity of your hearing loss. They will also work with you to find the best type of hearing aids available as well as the type that fits your needs and budget. Continue reading
Helping Kids Get Used to Wearing Hearing Aids
It is really unfortunate for a parent to realize that he has a child who is suffering from hearing loss. He needs to seek medical help for his child right away so that his hearing loss will not become worse.
You cannot expect a small child to understand his deficiencies and he will just show the adverse effects of his hearing impairment with violent reactions. Therefore, it is very important for you to get him used to wearing a hearing aid in his ears to lessen the degree of his frustrations. Continue reading
When to Wear Hearing Aids
The problem with hearing loss is that you will not notice it coming. It just slowly and gradually creeps in and when you start to become aware of it, the condition has already developed in a way that you can no longer restore your hearing back to how it was before. Continue reading
Hearing aids prescription for childrenis necessary because hearing difficulties varies, and there’s no one-size-fits-all type available for kids. If you want your child to receive the best results, a hearing test will be necessary so an audiologist or hearing specialist can provide the right prescription and solution.
Before you go to a hearing specialist, it’s best if you learn as much as you can about hearing aids so you’ll know what to expect. Although these devices are widely used, there are still some misconceptions which continue to prevail, and it’s essential you learn the facts.
How Hearing Devices Work
Every behind the ear hearing aid includes a battery compartment, an on/off switch, a tone hook, volume control, processors, amplifiers and a microphone. The sound goes into the microphone and shaped and amplified by the processor. Next, the processor transmits the sound to the tone hook and in the ear mold. This ear mold has to be shaped exactly to fit the child’s ear, which is why a prescription is necessary. As the child gets older, the ear mold needs to be replaced so it fits.
In the past, children had to be of a certain age before they could be fitted with a hearing aid, but that’s no longer the case as technology allows infants as young as 4 months to be fitted with hearing devices. However, you should not attempt to put one on before consulting an audiologist.
What is the Best Hearing Solution?
Don’t believe any advertisement you see, as only an audiologist can provide the prescription necessary, and it’s important that as soon as hearing difficulties are determined, the child be examined by a specialist. Infants and very young children won’t be able to adjust the device given in a hearing aids prescription for children, so it’s up to the parent to make the adjustment.
As your child gets older, more tests can be performed and they’ll be able to make adjustments for amplification limits and frequency response. Different types of hearing aids are available now, and the audiologist will help you choose the best one. However, the most widely used is the BTE (behind the ear) as it can accommodate different ear molds, and the ear mold can be removed and reshaped as the child gets older.
Another reason why BTE is popular is because caregivers and parents will have little difficulty making adjustments. Furthermore, BTEs are effective for different kinds of hearing problems and can be used with various hearing devices. In addition, BTE ear molds are made of soft material that’s comfortable and safe to wear.
ITE (in the ear) hearing solutions are also available, but they’re suitable for older children and adults. Regardless which one you choose, hearing aids prescription for children is required. After you’ve chosen a hearing device, the audiologist will adjust the device as best suits the child based upon hearing tests. Different methods can be used, one of the most popular being the real ear measurement as it’s proven effective.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aids Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
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