Hearing aids and devices for children with hearing loss

Hearing aids and devices for children with hearing loss

Hearing aids can improve the ability of children with hearing loss to communicate with friends and family, learn to speak more clearly and understand teachers at school. The goal is to reduce delays in speech and language development, improve communication, and reduce the risk of academic difficulties.

Hearing aids and devices are battery-powered, and most are worn on and/or inside the ears to help children with hearing loss hear better. They pick up voices and other sounds through a tiny built-in microphone to make them louder, and then send them to your child's ears. Hearing aids and devices help make speech clearer.

Hearing aids are "digital," which allows the audiologist to use a computer to tell the digital chip inside the hearing aid how loudness to increase at different frequencies or tones depending on the child's hearing loss. Think of digital hearing aid "programming" as adjusting the bass or treble control of the stereo, not just turning the overall volume up or down.

Some hearing aids are able to connect directly to smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices, which makes it easy for your child to listen, listen to TV, and play.

If your child is a good candidate for hearing aids, your audiologist will discuss your options.

Types of hearing aids and hearing aids.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids with custom ear cups or earplugs

The most common type of hearing aid for babies and children is called a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid because it is located behind the ear.

BTE hearing aids send sound to the ear by attaching it to an earpiece, which can be small plastic earplugs of various sizes or a custom-made earmold called an earmold. Your audiologist may recommend earplugs or earmolds for a variety of reasons.

Earmolds need to be remade as the ears grow, while earbuds need to be replaced frequently due to wear and tear. Because babies and toddlers grow rapidly, they typically need three to four (sometimes more) sets of earmolds per year.

If the earmolds and earbuds don't fit properly, sound can leak out of the ear, which can cause the hearing aids to emit a "whistling" sound called feedback, causing them to not function as well as they should.

In-the-ear receiver (rite) hearing aids with custom molds or earplugs

In-the-ear receiver (RITE) hearing aids look similar to BTE hearing aids, except that the receiver is located inside, not inside the hearing aid.

The position of the receiver makes the hearing aid smaller, even when powerful equipment is required.

Feedback is unlikely to occur with a RIR hearing aid.

Like BTE, RITE hearing aids send sound into the ears by attaching to a custom earmold or earbud.

The RITE style is not suitable for every child's ear canal, nor is it suitable for very young children or children with severe hearing loss.

In-ear (ITE) hearing aids.

In-ear (ITE) hearing aids are made of hard plastic and are custom-made for children's ears. This process is similar to making a custom earmold that attaches to a BTE hearing aid.

Because children's ears grow rapidly, it is not recommended for young children to use ITE hearing aids, because the young child needs to send the hearing aids for remaking frequently, resulting in him not having hearing aids.

Once a child reaches an age where they are no longer growing fast, ITE may be an option.

Bone conduction hearing apparatus (BCHD).

A bone conduction hearing device (BCHD) transmits sound vibrations directly to the inner ear through the skull, bypassing the outer and middle ear. This process is called bone conduction.

Bone conduction hearing aids (BCHD) may be recommended for children who are unable to use traditional hearing aids (listed above). There are both surgical and non-surgical options for BCHD.

Non-surgical options include wearing the device over a soft or stiff headband, or sticking to ** with an adhesive adhesive.

A surgically implanted BCHD consists of two parts: an internal component and an external processor. Options for surgical BCHD can include an external post (abutment) or a magnetic attachment that connects the internal implant to the external BCHD processor.

Voice Contralateral Routing (CROS) hearing aids.

CROS hearing aids may be recommended for children who have significant hearing loss in one ear and better hearing in the other.

CROS hearing aids are made up of two parts:

o CROS device with microphone to pick up sound from hearing loss ears Sound;

o Hearing aids, which receive signals from the hearing loss ear and send it to the ear with better hearing.

The CROS device allows your child to hear the sounds made by the hearing loss ear without having to turn his better ear towards the person who is speaking.

Remote Microphone (RM) System (formerly FM System).

For children with hearing loss, a remote microphone system, often used in the classroom, may be recommended to help the child better hear and understand the teacher as well as classmates and multiple devices.

The remote microphone system consists of two parts:

o Transmitter, which has a microphone that picks up the speaker's voice.

o Receiver, which picks up the sound and sends it directly to the child's ear. The receiver can be worn on its own ear or, if the child is wearing other hearing aids, it can be attached to the device, which can be worn around the neck or inside the device. The receiver can also be a speaker or group of speakers in the classroom, or a small speaker on the child's desk.

Cochlear implant (CI).

A cochlear implant is a device that uses both internal and external components.

The device uses hearing aids that cannot help children with hearing loss.