Healthy Hearing Aid Habits

Hearing loss is usually permanent, but with hearing aids you’ll be able to cope with it.   Yes they will take some getting used to at first, but a few tweaks here and there and some adjustments on your part should make the transition easy. Here are some suggestions to help you get started.

Wear the Hearing Aids

If you have hearing aids, don’t leave them in the box: wear them. At first it will be uncomfortable because everything you hear seems to be magnified, and you probably feel a bit self conscious. Even so, it’s imperative that you wear them because it’s the only way you’ll get used to the new sensations. Continue reading →

Teaching Children about Hearing Aids

Family get-togethers and celebrations are the perfect time to talk to children about hearing aids, especially if one of your relatives wears one. If you wear hearing aids for instance, it’s only natural for kids to be curious. The first thing you should do is tell the child what the hearing aids are for, but if he / she is very young, a different approach will be necessary.

Communicating with Young Children

With children 2 to 5 years old

The best way is to play games like Peek-a-boo and variations so they learn to establish eye contact. When with toddlers, remember that they like to play with objects using their hands and mouth so keep the hearing aids and batteries in a safe place. Continue reading →

Using Hearing Aids in Summer time Activities 

Wearing hearing aids shouldn’t keep you from the beach, the water and the sun in summer. While these hearing instruments won’t get in the way when you swim, hike or do other summer activities, there are some items you should bring along to keep it safe.

Wind and Weather Protector

Summertime means spending hours outdoors, and severe heat exposure could shorten the lifespan of the device. However, you can protect it by getting a wind and weather protector for your hearing device. These protectors have filters that go into your hearing aids and function as a buffer for the wind, rain and other particles that might damage your hearing aids. These tools also come with a utility for filter replacement. Continue reading →

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