If your child has been diagnosed as hard of hearing, you may be pursuing hearing aids as the best way to provide your child with an aural sense of the world around him. Acquiring hearing aids at an early age can ensure your child remains on track when it comes to language development and even social skills, but you may wonder how you'll ever get a contrary toddler or fidgety pre-schooler to wear these hearing aids without fiddling with them or renewing them entirely. Fortunately, having these aids professionally fitted may help you stave off many of your worries. Read on to learn more about the process of having your child fitted for her first hearing aid.
What type of hearing aid is best for your child?
There are several types of hearing aids available, but for young children, a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid is generally the best option. A BTE hearing aid can grow and adjust as your child grows, minimizing the cost associated with purchasing several hearing aids over the course of his or her childhood and teen years.
These hearing aids consist of an internal amplifier that fits inside the hear and an external receiver that connects to this amplifier and curves behind the ear. BTE hearing aids can be adjusted to minimize background noise when listening to a single speaker or tuned to capture the full array of cacophony that can come from walking down a busy city street or attending a birthday party. This can help your child learn to focus on a single speaker and tune out background noise, which will remain a useful skill throughout her adult life.
How can you ensure your child reliably wears his or her hearing aids?
BTE hearing aids are easier to remove than in-the-ear hearing aids, so you may worry about your ability to keep this hearing aid safe and in place. Fortunately, for many children, the difference in hearing acuity that is immediately achieved by putting in a hearing aid may be motivation enough to keep wearing this hearing aid.
For children who are a bit more resistant to wearing their hearing aid regularly, there are several devices that may help. From clips designed to secure this hearing aid into your child's hair to caps that fit over the hearing aid to make removal difficult without a helping hand, your child's audiologist will be able to work to find the best solution.
Contact a hearing aid specialist for more information and assistance.
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