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Tips
& Tricks for Children with Hearing Aids
Through our
own experience and searching the Internet, we have compiled some tips
that we have found very useful - topics range from the mundane to the
serious.
General
- If you
think your homeowner's insurance policy will cover the aids if they
are lost or broken, you better consult with your insurance agent. We've
read of many cases where homeowner's policies rarely cover them! You
may wish to invest in a separate warranty / policy for them. We have
links to some providers here.
- Moisture
can kill a hearing aid. Use the desiccant you most likely got from your
audiologist regularly - even if you don't think it needs it.
- If your
child's aids have a remote control, be careful with the off button!
Both of our kids are hard of hearing and if we turn off one set with
the remote control (say to put them away for the night), the signal
can go a long ways (even to another room) and turn off the other
set!
"Uh, oh, Daddy. I need new batteries!" <grin>
- Are your
child's aids continually coming un-tucked from behind the ear? This
usually isn't a problem for older kids but the little one's have such
small ears, there isn't much there to hold the aid. We recommend using
toupee tape (double sided tape basically). The stuff we buy comes in
strips about the size of a Band-Aid. We cut it into 10 pieces or so
just the right size and peel and stick it to the aid, then to behind
the child's ears.
- For active
kids that sweat or little ones that like to chew on their aids, we highly
recommend a product called Super
Seals. For lack of a better term, they are rubbers that fit over
the aid and protect them from moisture. They are easy to put on, come
in different colors and can save you from an expensive repair bill!
- Kids,
younger ones especially, will take their aids out - whether to look
at them or play with them. Our biggest fear is that one would get dropped
and we would lose it. We highly recommend a product called Critter
Clips. A lightweight lanyard attaches to the instrument and clips
firmly to the child’s clothing with a colorful character. Our
audiologist sells them but if yours doesn't, try one of the stores we
have listed here.
Use
and Care
- Simple
soap and water works best for cleaning ear molds. Never use alcohol
or other solvents!
- If you've
replaced the battery and the hearing aid still isn't working, check
to make sure there isn't ear wax or some other material stuck in the
mold. If it still isn't work, take the mold off and then the arm and
try again. If the aid works without any of the attachments, something
is most likely plugged up somewhere in the mold or arm.
Batteries
- Always
make sure you have batteries with you! There is nothing worse than being
away from home or on vacation and not having them!
- We have
found Radio Shack to be a great source for hearing aid batteries. If
you watch their fliers, they put them on sale often and you get a discount
for buying in quantity. We stock up with a BUNCH when they are on sale.
- When
we replace the batteries, we take the little sticker off of the battery
and put it on our calendar on whatever the current date is and write
whether it was put in the left or right aid (and in our case, with
two hard of hearing kids, we note which kid). This is great for tracking
trends in battery usage and identifying potential problems with the
aids.
Ear
Molds
- When our
kids were younger, it was not uncommon for them to pull their aids out
of their ears. As a side-effect, the tube would sometimes come out of
the mold itself. No need to run to the audiologist! We simply used Super
Glue to glue the tube back into the mold. You should test the fit of
the tube into the mold to make sure you know exactly how to get it in,
fast, as Super Glue dries fast. We have also heard that clear
nail polish works (and won't dry so fast). If you do this, be sure the
tubing goes all of the way in and that you do not get any glue in the
tube!
- There
are different manufacturers and different materials used to make ear
molds - if you're not happy with one, ask your audiologist to try another.
We had problems with molds from one particular company never fitting
quite right. Once we switched to another company, we were much happier.
We also had some made from a material (unknown) that we weren't pleased
with.
- Did you
just get a new set of molds to find that your child is experiencing
an inordinate amount of feedback? Don't be shy - return them to your
audiologist just like you would any other defective product! There is
no reason to pay for something that doesn't work right.
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