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How to Get a Child to Wear a Hearing Aid

• Answer:

  Helping a hearing-impaired child get acclimated to wearing a hearing aid takes patience and diligence. The younger the child, the bigger the challenge. It's best to start off gradually with a new hearing aid rather than just jumping in cold turkey. Once your child comes to appreciate the positive benefits of the hearing aid, they will be more willing to wear the device. If handled wisely, even the youngest children can learn to accept wearing a hearing aid as part of their daily routine. Difficulty: Moderately Challenging Things You'll Need Picture book Doll or stuffed animal Instructions Introducing a Hearing Aid Introduce your child to another child who wears a hearing aid. This will help her to see that a hearing aid can be a normal part of everyday life. Explain the benefits of the hearing aid and the reason for wearing it. Have your child try out the hearing aid and reinforce positive reactions to the device such as any new sounds that are noticed thanks to the hearing aid. Allow your child to place a make-believe hearing aid in the ear of a favorite doll or stuffed animal. Your child may also use this game as an opportunity to talk about how they feel about the hearing aid. Introduce the hearing aid in a quiet area during the first few trial uses. Once your child is acclimated to the hearing aid in quiet surroundings, let her experience the device in a noisier environment. Allow the child to decorate or personalize her hearing aid. Precautions Make sure that the hearing aid is on and working correctly. Check the settings and check for feedback before putting the aid in the child's ear. Hold the ear mold in the palm of your hands for a few moments to warm it up before inserting it in your child's ear. The shock of a cold appliance can startle a child and make her not want to wear the hearing aid. Make sure that the environment is relaxed when the time comes to put in the hearing aid. If you are tense or anxious your child will pick up on this and may associate this tension with the hearing aid. Extending Use Gradually build up the amount of time that your child wears the hearing aid until wearing the appliance full time is achieved. Start with wearing the hearing aid just long enough to participate in a fun activity like reading a picture book aloud and build from there. This will also attach positive connotations to the hearing aid. Include inserting the hearing aid into your normal morning routine. Write down questions and concerns you have to bring to your child's follow-up exam. Tips & Warnings Tip: A sticker reward system can provide motivation for wearing a hearing aid. Post a chart and allow your child to add a sticker each time she wears the hearing aid for a specified amount of time. Warning: Be consistent in all guidelines on the use of the hearing aid. If the guidelines are only casually reinforced, a child will have a much harder time achieving full time use of the device.