DD is getting her hearing aid in about 6 weeks. Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect?

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

In terms of how it will change things for her, how she might react to it. How long it will take to get used to it, whether lip-reading will still be important for her etc. What kind of care is required for the aid itself too?

If it goes "well" she'll get one for the other ear fitted in a few months.

Am posting this in health too....

TIA.

How old is she?? My little boy had aids fitted when he was 4.... can tell you all about it!

If it's a typical behind-the-ear HA then it shouldn't need all that much in the way of care. You'll need to wash the mould fairly regularly, probably about once a week. I leave mine in a small bowl of water for a couple of hours, obviously after disconnecting the HA itself from the mould.

With a digital HA it starts to bleep when the batteries need to be changed. You should be given a few packs of batteries to start you off, and from then on you take the used ones back and get them swapped for new ones. The hospital should give you a list of places and times for this, eg some libraries have drop-in sessions for HAs where they change batteries and help fit new tubing.

They usually say you should use them for a few minutes at a time to start with to get used to it. It can be a bit strange at first. I only started using HAs as an adult so I'm not sure how long it takes for a child to get used to it. I think it took me about a week or so.

I still use lip-reading but not as much as I used to.

Good luck with the appointment

When dd3 got her hearing aids, we got a little pack of stuff with it for maintenance and the audiologist went through how to use everything in it. As far as getting used to it the advice was to leave it in until she pulled it out, give her a rest and try again, gradually building up the time she had them in. The national deaf childrens society (NDCS) has a load of useful stuff on its site. Hope you get on ok!

She's 5.

The school havent had a child with HA's for some years apparently so I think I'll need to go through some stuff with them too, wont I?

Thanks all

The NDCS has a load of stuff on their site for schools. Do you have a teacher of the deaf, it's the kind of thing they should be doing for you.

DS got his at 3 and wore it all the time straight away, it was so successful he got the other one about 6 weeks later. Do you have a teacher of the deaf? They should explain stuff to school and mine has been good at explaining it to the other kids in the class too as they are naturally inquisative. we were told to change the batteries weekly, that way you shouldn't ever get to the situation where they run out. The aids do beep when they are going but DS has had aids where he can't hear the beep, it takes kids a while to recognise that aids aren't working too. Has she chosen a colour for her aids and pictures for the moulds? This makes them a bit more user friendly!

Not everyone gets assigned a teacher of the deaf it depends where you live but the senco at your dds school would know who to contact if there is one to help. Get a copy of "deaf friendly schools" (free from the ndcs)and give it to the school. Lots of good advice for class teachers and deaf awareness and how to fully include a HI child in a class setting.

What is her level of hearing? It might well be worth asking about a radio aid FM system for her to use in school. Just makes it a little easier to cope with the rigours of class life. The audiologist would be able to advise you of this (some times the aid needs to have something enablesin order to use these)but it's usually provided by the education service not health.

YOu will probably need a puffer to blow out condensation from the tube and an old tooth brush with a drop of liquid soap is good to get rid of ear wax that sometimes blocks up the tubes. (you will need to remove the earmould from the aid though then puff it out after.)

You can get special cleaner for earmoulds but this is just as good and cheaper. I expect the audiologist will go through all this and give you what you need.

My son has had hearing aids for 18 months. He doesn't have a teacher of the deaf as his hearing loss is mild. His school has bought a soundfield system though to help him.

I wash my son's ear moulds in warm water with a drop of washing up liquid. After washing them I put them on a piece of kitchen towel in the airing cupboard. I use the the puffer to get rid of excess water.

I think its important to realise that a child still has a hearing impairment even with aids.

Hearing aids only amplify the residual hearing. Also unlike the natural ear everything gets amplified. There are situations where my son finds it easier not to wear hearing aids like noisy rooms.

DD gets A LOT of earwax, so I expect I'll need to do lots of cleaning!

There has been a lady visit the school from the Hearing Impairment Service. Is that the same thing as teacher for the deaf?

Yes that should be the teacher of the deaf. How often they go varies a lot. DS's goes to see him about once a half term and may pop in at other times to see his TA or fix broken equipment. I usually get a report or phone call so I know what she has done.
If ear wax is a massive problem you can get ENT to hoover it out - this can make quite a significant difference to DS's hearing.

I'm not sure earwax makes a huge amount of difference to DD's hearing.

once you have a hearing aid the wax doesn't have a route to get out if you see what I mean so it can become a problem, can also block the moulds but that is sorted with a good clean!