HELP!

Adrienne - posted on 05/04/2009

my daughter was born 100% profoundly deaf, we tried the hearing aids when she was little and hated them, then we got her implanted when she was 1 and she is now 4 and do this day hates wearing the implant. you would think after 3 years she would adjust to it but nope she HATES it. i actually have to call her audiologist because she hid her implant at school somewhere last week and no one can find it. her doctor told us to force her to wear it but i cant see doing that. she is very fluent in sign and so am i, i actually went and still goin to school for deaf education and i got certiffied in ASL 2 semesters ago. to me it doesnt matter whether she wears them and can hear or not, she is still beautiful in every way and i wouldnt have it any other way.

Portia - posted on 04/09/2009

Try puting toupe tape ( wig tape) on the back of the aids and stick it to his head. We also struggled with our son. consistency works and having the tape on there will buy you some time before he pulls them off.. and then you just have to remind him that he has to keep them on. Also doing an activity that he really enjoys will help him keep them on it will distract him and he will forget that there on after a while. Try baking with him.

April - posted on 03/14/2009

my son started wearing hearing aids at the age of 3 months old. He is now 9 years old. we had a constant battle trying to get him to wear the hearing aids until he started school. He then realized how much he needed them and with the help of teachers he now wears them all the time. So keep thinking positive a time will come when he realizes how much he do need them but right now he is too young to understand that! Best of luck and if u have any concerns or questions i dont mind helping!

Janette - posted on 02/26/2009

thankyou adrienne that is really helpful... gonna give those ideas a try over the next couple of weeks :)

Adrienne - posted on 02/26/2009

It is always hard to know exactly what a child is "hearing" through the aides. Some children can hear sounds, but don't know how to process it yet, some love the sounds, and others are very sensitive, still others refuse and I've heard adults describe it as "clutter". If you really want your son to wear them, the other posts are right - teach him to tolerate them a little at a time.
There are a few strategies, though... Try one at a time (he may be having an issue with one or the other - that's an easy way to figure that out).

Try short periods - set a timer, for example. Try to make sure that you take them out, don't wait for him to pull them out - that way he knows you will get them and he doesn't have to worry about it.

Another strategy is to make sure they are off when you put them on - sometimes the sudden burst of sound is uncomfortable.

And finally, check if it is the feeling of the aide that is the problem, or the sound. Try to have him put them on for a few minutes at a time while they're off. If he tolerates that, it may be the sound that he's struggling with.

Hope those help. If not to keep them on, at least to identify what specific issue he's struggling with! Good luck.

Janette - posted on 02/25/2009

Quoting Heidi:

My daughter is almost four and we have struggled with her as well. This past time she was molded she was able to pick the color of the molds themselves. She is very proud of them. We also have them tethered to her shirt. If it gets really bad you can use a reward system. Give him stickers or something he really enjoys every hour he wears them fo a few days and then gradually increase the time frame. The first time he wears them all day make a HUGE deal of it and treat him extra special. On a medical note make sure he isn't getting feedback. They molded my daughters aids a little deeper and she doesn't get that anymore.

they made deeper moulds when we went there last week... just waiting for them to be delivered.

he gets some feedback anyway though cause hes disabled so he quite often leans on them.

do u think that the feedback could be why he doesnt want to wear them? i didnt realise that he would be able to hear it as hes severely deaf and the feedback doesnt seem to be that loud. but then i have to admit until i had my son i didnt really know anything about hearing aids or signing so this is al new to me :)

Heidi - posted on 02/24/2009

My daughter is almost four and we have struggled with her as well. This past time she was molded she was able to pick the color of the molds themselves. She is very proud of them. We also have them tethered to her shirt. If it gets really bad you can use a reward system. Give him stickers or something he really enjoys every hour he wears them fo a few days and then gradually increase the time frame. The first time he wears them all day make a HUGE deal of it and treat him extra special. On a medical note make sure he isn't getting feedback. They molded my daughters aids a little deeper and she doesn't get that anymore.

Janette - posted on 02/24/2009

Quoting Cheyenne:

my daughter was born with her hearing and loss it about a year ago due to a high dose of antibiotics...getting her to wear her hearing aides was a task but the audiologist recommended that we make her wear them at leat 1 or 2 hours a day and gradually increase the time of wearing them...eventually she got use to them and now ask to me to put in her "ear wax"(that's what she calls them) so she can hear us....i think that your will do fine as time goes on...i guess having patience is the main factor.

ive got plenty of patience with him on it i know he'll accept them when hes ready... its just i get fed up with his doctor saying he should be wearing them all day so thought id see if anyone had got any tips that i could try.

i dont think that his doctor has got any kids of her own... else shed be a little more understanding of how hard it can be sometimes to get them to do something that they dont want to do.

Cheyenne - posted on 02/23/2009

my daughter was born with her hearing and loss it about a year ago due to a high dose of antibiotics...getting her to wear her hearing aides was a task but the audiologist recommended that we make her wear them at leat 1 or 2 hours a day and gradually increase the time of wearing them...eventually she got use to them and now ask to me to put in her "ear wax"(that's what she calls them) so she can hear us....i think that your will do fine as time goes on...i guess having patience is the main factor.