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With new hearing aids, your child is now ready to hear more out of life. There is a period of adjustment when you must help your child learn to use and take care of their hearing aids.

Learning to Hear
It will take time for your child to grow accustomed to the hearing aids. Familiar sounds may seem different.

For some children, this will be their first experience at hearing anything but extremely loud sounds. These children will need many hours of listening and practice to learn words and identify other sounds in their environment.

Your hearing healthcare professional will set up a schedule that will let your child get used to wearing the hearing aids. After a little while, your child should be wearing the hearing aids all day, everyday, indoors and outdoors.

You can help your child in many ways. For example, always speak to your child in a normal voice. Many children find loud sounds uncomfortable, even though they have a hearing loss. For the best listening conditions, speak no more than six feet away from your child and make sure that background noise is kept to a minimum. It may be difficult, if not impossible, for your child to hear you while the television is on.

What You Need to Know
Once you become familiar with your child’s hearing aids, you will be able to identify and describe problems, if they occur.

All hearing aids, regardless of style, contain:

• A microphone to pick up sounds
  
• An amplifier to make sounds louder
  
• A receiver to send these louder signals to the eardrum
  
• A battery to act as a power source
  

Accessories and Options
Accessories are available with all hearing aids. These may make it easier for your child to use and accept their new hearing aids. Ask your hearing professional about accessories that may be appropriate for your child.

Color: Your child can choose the color of their hearing aids.

Direct Audio Input: The Direct Audio Input option allows the child’s hearing aids to be connected to a variety of listening devices including home and school FM systems, television and home audio equipment.

Volume Control Cover: A volume control cover prevents the child from adjusting the volume control beyond the recommended loudness.

Tamper-resistant Battery Door: This battery door is designed to protect against battery ingestion.

Other useful accessories include:

Stethoscope: A hearing aid stethoscope is a convenient accessory for daily listening checks of your child’s hearing aids. This helps you ensure that the hearing aids are working properly.

Earmold Air Blower: The air blower is useful for removing water or moisture from the tubing on the earmold used with behind-the-ear hearing aids.

Battery Tester: A battery tester can be useful for checking the charge of hearing aid batteries.

Do not hesitate to ask your hearing healthcare professional for more information about your child’s hearing loss and new hearing aids. The more you know, the better you will be able to help your child.