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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

DS (5) needs a hearing aid and glasses, any advice for us about how he deals with them at school?

26 replies

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:05

Hi, we found out DS1 (5yo) needs a hearing aid (just at school and because of intermittent problems caused, we think, by frequent ear infections, and only a temporary measure until he can get grommets) and glasses (he's long sighted with +1 in each eye, so just for close work)

It's coincidental that we've found out about both in the same week!

Also, he had hearing and eye tests at school last term and they didn't think he had a problem with either, but hey ho.

Anyway, has anyone had similar? Is there anything I should be doing with the school to manage how he looks after this equipment and so on? I've spoken to the class teacher who is going to get the SENCO to talk to me about the hearing aid. We only just found out about the glasses yesterday, so I will talk to her about these as well.

How will he cope with taking off and putting on glasses all the time? They are just for reading and computer work.

Will the glasses and hearing aid even fit behind his left ear?!?

I'm not really sure what I'm asking here, tbh, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed! Not that it's about me, but anyway.

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edam · 21/04/2013 16:09

Don't know about hearing aids and my ds is older, but he does have reading glasses about the same strength as your ds and the one huge change since I was a child is that glasses are, apparently, cool. This is clearly A Good Thing - I'm amazed but pleased. The kids actually compare glasses and the ones without them are a little bit jealous!

Ds copes fine at school and has not lost his glasses yet but he was 8 when he got them so presumably far more able to take responsibility for belongings.

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:10

Ha! Really? Excellent news.

Thanks for replying

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ilovepowerhoop · 21/04/2013 16:12

ds is 6 and has glasses for close work. He takes a glasses case into school and puts the glasses in it (when he remembers) when he goes out for playtime/lunchtime/gym, etc

edam · 21/04/2013 16:12

No problem. There are loads of nice frames for him to choose from for free, as well as ones you can pay for if you feel like it. (Thankfully ds was too old for Ben 10 - a couple of years earlier he would have insisted on them!)

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:17

I can't imagine DS remembering to put them on. I'm probably underestimating him! I think his teacher will help him, hopefully. He's in reception.

We couldn't find Ben 10 ones in our optician! He has some nice light blue ones that look quite sweet.

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edam · 21/04/2013 16:20

He may be better at remembering than you think, because it will be obvious to him as soon as he can't see the writing on the whiteboard (hopefully). Or he'll squint and his teacher will remind him.

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:22

Let's hope so! We only took him to have an eye test as I was picking up new glasses and it was free! So we weren't expecting anything.

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edam · 21/04/2013 16:26

I wasn't either. I was really good at taking him for eye tests for years, as I'm short sighted, but every time it was fine. He takes after dh physically - looks nothing like me at all - and dh is fine too. I may have let the eye tests slide a little as a result of this... when his friend got glasses, ds nagged me and started pretending he couldn't see - even though we'd just been to the optician a month beforehand. So I had in my head 'ds is always fine and just pretends he can't see because he wants glasses'.

Oops - six months later ds starts with the 'the board is all fuzzy' again and I ignore him. Eventually we get a letter home from his teacher saying PLEASE take him for an eye test...

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:28

Do I need to name label his glasses?

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Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:29

ilovepowerhoop thanks for replying as well!

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cocolepew · 21/04/2013 16:31

Glasses are definitely cool .
Dd is 11 and got her first pair a year or so ago. She takes the off for playgrond and pe.

ilovepowerhoop · 21/04/2013 16:31

no I dont label glasses (dd wears hers full time but ds only has his for close work) but do label ds's glasses case

edam · 21/04/2013 16:33

YY deffo label glasses case.

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:35

coolio. thanks.

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Donki · 21/04/2013 16:39

We have a number of students who wear both hearing aids and glasses. The combination does not seem to cause them any problems trying to fit both behind the ear.
Has school had any advice from a teacher of the deaf?
Background noise will cause problems.

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:43

I'm so early on with this that I have no idea. The school haven't had a problem with DS's hearing at all. It's all been me and now the audiologist, which at least has assuaged my fears that I am being neurotic about it! We've been worried about his hearing and how many ear infections he has. But the hearing loss comes and goes and we worked out that sometimes he is lip reading (he couldn't hear us behind him or in the dark at night). It must be hard to notice issues like this when there are 30 kids about and he isn't being a problem.

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Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 16:43

thanks re wearing both, something to stop worrying about

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Donki · 21/04/2013 18:36

OK:
Things to be aware of.
Your DS needs to be sat at the front.
The teacher needs to make sure that she is facing him and that he is looking at her when she speaks.
Background noise is not just a problem when he is trying to listen to the teacher and to peers, he may find concentrating at all difficult when all the students are working and talking as the hearing aid amplifies everything.
He may struggle to hear common word endings -s and -ed for instance which makes it hard for students to learn how to use verbs correctly.
There is lots more that may- or may not apply to your DS. School should definitely ask for help from a Teacher of the Deaf.

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 18:50

That is REALLY helpful. Thank you very much.

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Periwinkle007 · 21/04/2013 19:22

my 5yr old reception daughter got glasses over easter (coloured lenses for use with reading, writing and white board stuff). There are a few others in the class with glasses all with their own requirements for when they need to wear them etc. The teacher keeps their cases on her desk and so far they have checked they all have their glasses at home time in their bags and that they take them off for PE if they don't need them etc.

can't help with the hearing aid but I have found the staff to be very helpful and on the ball with the glasses.

I haven't labelled the glasses themselves, I can't imagine anyone running off with them but I have labelled both the outside and the inside of the case.

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 21/04/2013 19:58

Thank you

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Minimaxkids · 22/04/2013 17:13

Dd has a case with handles. I got it in Disney it's tinkerbell but I would assume they have a boys equiv.
it's so much easier to carry them to and from school and helped her be responsible for them. She is short sighted so keeps them on all the time. But yes glasses are very cool, she has been told not to let others try them on.
The long sighted kids keep their cases on their desks.

I would recommend specsavers and pay about £30 to have a 2nd spare pair. It takes a week to get new glasses if they damage them. Although free to get fixed, what do you do in the week while you wait!?

Original poster

BellaBearisWideAwake · 22/04/2013 18:16

thanks!

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ihateveggies · 22/04/2013 21:40

My ds has glasses and can't hear well ( seeing the ent consultant on Friday, coincidentally).

He needs to sit close to the teachers so that he can see/hear them
Always send the glasses case to school, tell the teacher that if he needs to remove them, he should put them in the case
Buy 2 pairs of glasses (in case he breaks/loses one pair). The nhs (or whomever it is) pays a contribution towards them. Pay extra and get him the strongest lenses you can find, I spent £300 for two pairs and it was money well spent
They will be shy the first couple of days, then fine with glasses
It is very difficult to get the grommets op on the nhs these days, go private if you have health insurance (or if you can pay). Have them take the adenoids out as well
He needs to wear his glasses all the time, including at weekends. If he is lucky, he won't need to wear them in a couple of years.

Hope this helps, he will remember them and be ok after a very short time.

ReallyTired · 22/04/2013 22:02

My son wore hearing aids for 18 months from the age of five. He looked after his own hearing aids, including changing the batteries. The only thing he needed help with was retubing the hearing aids every three to four months and washing the ear moulds.

Children's hearing aids are really cool. My son had blue hearing aids with Dr Who ear moulds.

My son wore glasses from the age of seven without any problems.

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