Hearing Aid Challenges for Children and How You Can Overcome Them

The truth is that dealing with hearing aids and children, especially infants, can be very tricky. To have them keep the aids in their ears presents a series of challenges.

And, if the world of hearing loss is new to you, you may be wondering how you can tackle these challenges.

This blog post is all about the common challenges for children wearing hearing aids and the solution you could use to tackle each unique situation.

 

1. Getting your child to keep the hearing aids in

In this case, the solution would be to attach other accessories to the hearing aid and also have a backup plan.

The thought of losing a hearing aid can be very scary. With children, you have to be extra attentive. They may get uncomfortable with the device, take it off and throw it anywhere, especially when they’re newly introduced to the device.

There are times when you look down and find that a hearing aid is missing. To avoid this, use a clip system – a hat or headband will help to keep the hearing aid in place and attached if they decide to take it off.

The backup plan would be to get insurance to cover losing the hearing aid, at least one time. It helps to know there is always a backup.

 

2. Is the hearing aid working perfectly for my kid?

The simple answer to the question above is to pay attention to your kid’s behavior. As a kid, they may not be able to give verbal feedback on how they feel. They can’t say if the hearing is too loud or too low.

In this situation, you could visit a hearing aid centre and partner with our hearing aid specialists to watch out for certain behaviors that might indicate that the hearing aid is not set accurately.

Behaviors like crying and jumping, often indicate that the hearing aid is too loud for the child. On the other hand, little or no responses from the child indicates that the hearing is set too low.

 

3. Removing the hearing aids

Some older kids may get so attached to the hearing aid and would see it as a toy. Therefore, they may not let you take it off during night time. They may insist they want to sleep with it.

In this case, try to establish a bedtime routine with your kid. Talk to him about the time they should have their aids on and when they need to take it off.

Never try to struggle with your kid about taking it off. It may get damaged. If he refuses, allow him to sleep off, then quietly take it out.

 

4. Avoiding water

There are a lot of hearing aids that are water-resistant but are not waterproof. It means that they are designed to handle sweat and light rain, but should not be completely submerged in water.

Ensure that you take the hearing aids off during bath time when going for a swim or fun at the beach.

When taking off the hearing aid during times like this, you may be worried that your kid may miss out on important moments or instructions. In this case, learn a little sign language. It would definitely come in handy.

 

5. Having small earmolds and feedback

The solution to this is regular fits and headbands. Sometimes, the earmold may pop out and give off feedback. The feedback is the whistling sound that happens when sound leaves the ears and into the microphone.

Kids’ ears grow very fast – which means that they will need new earmolds more often. While waiting for a new mold, you could use a headband over the old hearing aid. This keeps the earmold in place and controls the feedback.

During this time, you could take your kid to Perfect Hearing, a hearing aid specialist in Malaysia for a hearing test to check if there are any changes or improvement in your kid’s hearing.

In a nutshell

So here you go, the common challenges for kids wearing hearing aids. Try these different solutions to see which one works best for you and your kid. If you have more questions, feel free to get in touch with us at Contact Us