Hearing aids are tiny amplifiers that can improve hearing. Your child's reaction to a new hearing aid depends on many factors, such as the severity of the hearing problem and age. Typically, infants adjust quickly to the use of a hearing aid, but toddlers often need time to get used to the influx of new or louder sounds. Work closely with your child's audiologist to find the right fit and settings for the hearing aid. The audiologist also will give you specific advice about how to help your child adjust to the sound of the hearing aid.
Step 1
Check the settings on the hearing aid to ensure they are in line with the audiologist's recommendations. Some hearing aids automatically adjust their amplification based on room noise, but the audiologist might direct you to lower or increase the volume in certain conditions. For example, noisy playgrounds might be too much for your child at first.
Step 2
Increase the amount of time your child wears the hearing aid gradually to allow her to adjust to the new influx of sounds. For example, have your child wear it for 10 to 30 minutes during the first week, 60 minutes the next week and so on.
Step 3
Use positive reinforcement to associate pleasant activities with wearing the hearing aid. For example, during the time your child wears the hearing aid, read a story or take a nature walk and describe what you both are looking at. Choose relatively quiet but entertaining activities to make it easy for your child to focus on your voice.
Step 4
Speak clearly and loudly to ensure the hearing aid amplifies your voice well. Hearing aids often are designed to work best when the noise source is directly facing the wearer, so stand in front of your child. This also helps the child use visual cues, such as lip movements, to ascertain meaning.
Step 5
Speak with full phrases and sentences, not single words. Communicating requires a complex interaction of visual, auditory and semantic clues, so speaking in full sentences provides extra clues to help your child piece together your meaning.
Step 6
Monitor your child's behavior to ascertain whether there is discomfort. If your child associates pain with the hearing aid, he will be less likely to want to wear it. Return to your child's audiologist if it's apparent that your child's hearing aid doesn't fit or that its settings aren't optimal.
Tips and Warnings
- Note that children react differently to new hearing aids, so keep your expectations modest. Your child might have difficulty understanding why wearing a hearing aid is necessary, so be patient and don't let periodic tantrums dissuade you from following the advice of the medical professionals who are assisting you. Involve your child's audiologist as soon as problems appear.
