hearing aids: how to talk to 4 yr old about them

[Deleted]

DS1 starts fittings for hearing aids next week.

Anyone gone through this with a kid in the 3-5 year range? How did you talk to them about it? What can I expect?

He does have a friend at preschool who has a cochliar implant + hearing aid so I was thinking I should talk about how kid X has them and he'll get them too.

[meltoine]

mekiakoo

[cricketwife]

I don't know from experience but could you tell him that it's like glasses only for his ears? I think kids that age understand glasses.

[chickens987]

carolinagirl831 and alzi might have some advice.

[whereintheworld]

We talked about doing this with my son (then 19mo, now 4.5) but 2 sets of tubes and an adenoidectomy has brought his hearing back to normal range - anyway, we were given some reference material that referred to them as "super ears" to make them exciting for the child. I know a few children that wear braces on their feet and they call them their super boots/super shoes. Not sure if that helps but just an idea on wording when you're talking to your son. Good luck!

[Deleted]

Jul 18, 2014 13:10:59 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

I don't know from experience but could you tell him that it's like glasses only for his ears? I think kids that age understand glasses.

 
Thanks - I wear glasses so that could be helpful

[alzi]

There are books that hearing aid manufacturers have to teach about this. Can you ask your audiologist? I would be happy to help if you know what manufacturer you are getting him.

Eta: for ex, Phonak has Leo the Lion who wears hearing aids. There is a stuffed animal wearing hearing aids and books about him.

[redheadk]

Kellys korner's oldest dd wears hearing aids and I think she's done a few posts about it. She's very nice and I know she answers emailed questions about this so maybe try emailing her?

[Deleted]

Jul 18, 2014 14:07:36 GMT -5 alzi said:

There are books that hearing aid manufacturers have to teach about this. Can you ask your audiologist? I would be happy to help if you know what manufacturer you are getting him.

Eta: for ex, Phonak has Leo the Lion who wears hearing aids. There is a stuffed animal wearing hearing aids and books about him.

Thanks. Getting the moulds done on Monday so I'll ask for more info then.

[alzi]

Jul 18, 2014 18:44:17 GMT -5 oceanspray said:

Jul 18, 2014 14:07:36 GMT -5 alzi said:

There are books that hearing aid manufacturers have to teach about this. Can you ask your audiologist? I would be happy to help if you know what manufacturer you are getting him.

Eta: for ex, Phonak has Leo the Lion who wears hearing aids. There is a stuffed animal wearing hearing aids and books about him.

Can I order the stuffed animal somewhere? I have a friend who would love this for her kid.

I think the order would probably need to go through an audiologist, I tried to look it up on the consumer site and couldn't find it. Does your friend have an audiologist? I could request pricing on Monday from my rep if you want.

[ellipses84]

My little brother got hearing aids at a young age. We just told him they helped him hear better, a lot of kids at his special needs preschool class had them, and he thought it was awesome to get to pick out the colors. Kids ears grow fast, so you have to get to pick out new colors, sparkles, etc. each time (every few months I think). You will also have to talk to him about the responsibility of taking care of them, and you will have to learn to also. Once my brother had them for a few year, he'd be the one reminding me he needed to take them out before a swimming, a roller coaster or a water ride.