Hearing aids are the most effective and common treatment option for most types of hearing loss, and they’re extremely useful for both children and adults alike. Since children’s language and social skills haven’t fully developed, getting the highest quality of sound delivered to your child’s ear is a top priority.
Getting children with hearing loss immediate treatment is vital to their developmental, learning and behavioral abilities. Your child’s treatment options will be based on the type, severity and frequency of hearing loss. We’ll offer treatment guidelines after learning about your child’s medical history and doing a complete hearing assessment at DeSoto Eye and Ear.
Pediatric Hearing Aids
There are several styles of hearing aids for adults, but children are typically fitted with Behind The Ear (BTE) hearing aids. BTE hearing aids have a casing, which sits behind the ear and houses all the electronics. This attaches over the top of the ear by wire to a speaker, which sits in the ear canal. These hearing aids are the most powerful and effective for relaying consistent, understandable sound. Due to their reliability and power, they’re considered the best option for children whose language skills development is a higher priority than cosmetic concerns.
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. Other types of hearing aids may be appealing due to cosmetic concerns and comfort. Smaller, sleeker styles including In The Ear (ITE), In The Canal (ITC), Completely In the Canal (CIC) and Receiver In the Canal (RIC) hearing aids. Find out more about these styles by visiting our hearing aids page.
Pediatric Hearing Aid Accessories
Along with your child’s hearing aids, there are a number of important accessories that 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 hardest places to focus 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 important equipment like televisions, cell phones, computers and MP3 plays, which will help them relate more easily to their peers and family members.