Hearing aids are the most effective and standard treatment option for most types of hearing loss, and they are beneficial for both children and adults alike. However, since children’s language and social skills have not fully developed as adults’ have, getting the highest quality of sound possible delivered to your child’s ear is a top priority.
Pediatric Hearing Loss
Getting immediate treatment for a child with hearing loss is vital to their developmental, learning and behavioral abilities. Treatment options will depend on the type, severity and frequency of your child’s hearing loss. A pediatric hearing aid doctor will offer treatment guidelines after learning about your child’s medical history and completing a hearing assessment.
Hearing Aid Styles
There are several hearing aid styles for adults, but children typically receive behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids. BTE hearing aids have a casing that sits behind the ear and houses all the electronics. The casing attaches over the top of the ear via a tube that runs down the ear and connects to a custom mold in the ear canal.
These hearing aids are the most powerful and effective for relaying consistent, understandable sound. As inexpensive, custom molds can be made to fit the child’s ear as they grow, BTE hearing aids are considered the best option for children.
In some cases, especially in older children whose language is mostly developed, a pediatric audiologist may suggest other models of hearing aids for your child. While these hearing aids may not be as effective, their cosmetics and comfort make them appealing. Smaller, sleeker styles include in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), completely-in-the-canal (CIC) and receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aids.
Hearing Aid Accessories
Along with your child’s hearing aids, many essential accessories can improve language and learning. Children and adults alike commonly use classroom-specific hearing aid accessories, as classes and lecture halls prove to be some of the most challenging places to focus on for those with hearing loss.
For older children who understand their hearing loss, wireless remote-control accessories and apps allow for precise hearing aid adjustments without having to touch the tiny and delicate controls on the hearing devices themselves. Other similar accessories can allow your child to wirelessly connect directly to equipment such as televisions, cell phones, computers and music players, which will help them relate more quickly to their peers and family members.
Call Ear, Nose and Throat Surgical Associates, S.C. at (920) 734-7181 for more information or to schedule an appointment.