Instructions for wearing a hearing aid

The child’s daily and consistent use of hearing aids is a primary and essential condition in the rehabilitation process.

The child’s adaptation to hearing aids

The main goal in the process of the child’s adaptation to fitting hearing aids is to reach a consistent daily fitting of hearing aids, during all the child’s waking hours.

It is important to note that the process of adapting to hearing aids is gradual and varies from child to child

During the initial adjustment period, it is recommended to keep a relatively quiet environment, in order to create a pleasant experience that includes exposure to sounds and voices without interruptions.

It is recommended to start assembling the hearing aids at home while you are active with the child, as part of a positive experience.

If the child resists or is uncomfortable with the device, you would be the ones to remove the hearing aids.

After a short rest time – try to put the hearing aids back on.

The assembly times of the hearing aids must be gradually extended according to the child’s function and reach a situation where the child assembles the hearing aid during all waking hours.

Installing hearing aids for the child

Before assembling hearing aids, do the following:

  • Insert a good battery into the device.
  • Make sure the device is turned on and in M (microphone) mode.

If the device is working and the battery is good, a beep will be heard (feedback).

  • Make sure that the device intended for the right ear (red sticker) is connected to the right ear.
  • Make sure that the device intended for the left ear (blue sticker) is connected to the left ear.
  • You can listen to the sound quality of the device with the help of Statoclip.

Please make sure:

  • Secure the hearing aids against loss by connecting them with a dedicated cord to the child’s shirt.
  • Do not wet the hearing aids.
  • Keep the headphones clean and make sure the opening of the tube is not blocked.
  • If there is excretory inflammation, the hearing aids should not be assembled and the headset must be disinfected before reassembly.
  • Freeze hearing aids at night or when not in use in a drying box.

The child’s responses

Children react differently to fitting hearing aids and you can expect different auditory reactions including:

  • cease of action
  • Looking up
  • Sound source search
  • Changes in vocal productions (increase or decrease in muttering, qualitative changes in muttering and vocal quality)
  • Fatigue after prolonged assembly

In the first period, there may be attempts to take off the hearing aids and later we will sometimes see resistance to taking off the instruments due to the child’s enjoyment of the hearing aid.

It is important to record the child’s reactions and share with the speech therapist your child’s behaviors while fitting hearing aids

 

Reactions of the environment:

It is important to mediate the auditory environment for the child: speech sounds, environmental sounds and draw his attention to what is happening around him in the acoustic space. An explanation must be given to the sounds he hears according to the level of curiosity and alertness he shows.

It is important to observe the child’s reactions and behavior when fitting hearing aids: considering the sources of the sound as well as the reactions in the presence of loud noises.