Childhood hearing loss

[rhian]

My 2 month old has recently been diagnosed with bilateral mild hearing loss, and he'll get hearing aids in the next month or so. We have a great healthcare team, and we'll also receive support services through our state's Birth to Three program, so we're feeling good about that. We don't have any family history of childhood hearing loss, so we're learning a lot right now.

Does anyone have experience with this? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience, and tips/advice as hearing parents of a HOH child. Thanks!

[waverly]

I have experience. Feel free to PM me.

[meanie]

I am HOH and wore hearing aids as a child. I had some speech therapy when I was young, but I'm not sure if it was 100% hearing related since I am a bit tongue tied too.

My mom would give my teachers a letter at the beginning of the school year asking them to seat me at the front, which did help. I have gone a long time without using hearing aids (high school - now) and struggle when there is background noise, but otherwise it doesn't really affect me. My husband might disagree lol

I read lips which helps a lot. It's not something you can teach but will probably be a tool your child develops naturally - it is very common.

Definitely take advantage of the services your state provides, my DS did speech (not hearing related) and the people we worked with were wonderful.

[ellipses84]

My brother, who is decades younger than me, is partially deaf (more so in one ear) and wears hearing aids. When he was a kid there were regular visits to the audiologist, both to test his hearing and see if there were any changes and to get new ear molds made for his hearing aids. Kids grow so fast, they outgrow the plastic part that sits inside the ear. He got to choose different colors, sparkles, etc. whenever he got the molds done. Battery changing is a habit you will get into and I recommend rechargeable.

My parents moved to be in a better school district for his needs when he was a toddler. We used baby sign at first, which was extremely helpful. He was adopted from foster care as a young toddler, and there was some mention of family history that was never verified. He went to public preschool at 2 to learn ASL. He struggled there because most of the other kids were completely deaf and once he became aware enough, he’d still try to verbally speak to them and get upset that they were ignoring him. By pre-k they moved him to a typical classroom of hearing kids. In school, his teachers were supposed to use an FM system which is a microphone that transmits the teachers voice to his hearing aids, which helps with background noise / other kid chatter. Some teachers were better than others about using it and you can get a 504 for this (he had an IEP because of other issues). My mom had to be a very vocal advocate for him at school. People

His hearing never got significantly worse so he still functions similarly as an adult with hearing aids. We definitely have to speak up into one ear at breakfast and make sure he can see our lips to help lip read, if he hasn’t put hearing aids in yet. He has a visual smoke detector and an alarm clock in his room (lights up in addition to sound) and he had to make sure his dorm room was properly equipped. We always had to be careful to take out hearing aids if there was a swimming opportunity. Not hearing while swimming can be a safety concern or a challenge for swim lessons.

We have good friends who are CODA - Child of Deaf Adult (all their parents). Both hearing kids work as interpreters, doing things like accompanying people to doctor appointments or court to interpret. There’s strong opinions about cochlear implants in the deaf community and their impact on the community. They don’t work for everyone and not everyone wants them even if they are able to get them. There’s tons of amazing technology that makes it easier to communicate in this world. You may never need this info, but I thought I would share that your child is now part of a wonderful larger community.

Congratulations on your sweet new baby! Early intervention is ideal and it sounds like you have a good team in place.

[meanie]

ellipses84 you unlocked a core memory of getting my hearing aid molds made! The smell of the melted plastic stuff will be ingrained in my brain forever.

[rhian]

meanie ellipses84 Thank you for sharing your experiences! We've been told to expect very frequent (probably every few weeks) mold changes in the first year, since babies grow so fast. I believe we'll get set up with an SLP through Birth to Three. It's good to hear it's been helpful for you/your family members. Our audiologist said that with mild loss, mainstream schoools and classes are most typical, likely with some accommodations in place like preferential seating and an FM system. I expect that we'll have to advocate for him as your parents did, and so many parents of kids with disabilities do!

[winemaker06]

I grew up with a mild-to-moderate loss, and used an FM system in school. I hated it, but I’m sure it helped.
My parents put me in a small private school for grades 3-5, but I went to public middle and high school and stopped using the FM system and it was fine. I did have an IEP to be sure I had written instructions for big tests and stuff, but didn’t use any services otherwise.

I’m sure you’ll be a great advocate if you’re here asking the questions! Your audiologist and the birth to three program will be great resources.