Hello, need some hearing aid advice.

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Jazoe

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Hello,

We have a wonderful 2 month old daughter. She was recently diagnosed with severe hearing loss. We would like to get her fitted with hearing aids as soon as we can. My husband, son (4.5 years old), and I are all hearing, and have little to no ASL language. We are learning some simple words so far, 'Mommy, Daddy, milk, I love you, etc, so she she has some language at this early stage.
We are hoping to learn more ASL as a family. This has all been very new, and a lot to absorb for us. We're still just trying to figure out the terminologies, and where to go for support, and our next steps.
My question is about what kind of hearing aids would be best for her. Our audiologist seemed to believe she would be able to have almost a full range of hearing with them. If it's possible, we would like her to be oral, but we don't know which hearing aids would be best for speech. Our audiologist recommended Phonak Sky Q, but we don't know the difference between the Q50, Q70, Q90. She also mentioned the brand, Oticon.
We're feeling a little overwhelmed by some of these choices and any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
 
Both Phonak and Oticon are wellknown and really good brands. If you choose one of them the result will likely be fine. It is more important that the audiologist is skilled at adjusting the settings well. Which specific model to choose will be more important when the child is older, because the difference is often which assessories and special settings are available. For example, there might be option for Bluetooth connection to the TV, mobile phone, or to a microphone that you can hand to a lecturer. Here in Europe hearing loops are common, which means that in public locations such as lecture halls, churches, train stations you can push a button on the hearing aid and get the sound from a microphone right into the hearing aid, which gives a much clearer sound compared to listening through loudspeakers. However, these options are not really essential for really small children. Both Phonak and Oticon are good choices.

As for sign language I would say go for it. My opinion is that knowing two languages only facilities language learning. You can use sign to support what the child hears which will make it easier for the child to understand what is going on. When you are hard of hearing it is often exhausting to listen, since the brain always has to puzzle incomplete information. We usually become good at it, but it really means we get tired. Using some sign might help. Let's say the child is in high school and spends the whole day really focusing in school, then it might be a relief to sign a little at home or with friends, since you become exhausted after a few hours listening. Even if you cannot become fluent, it is convenient to be able to finger spell a name, abbreviation, or other terms that might be difficult to hear.

Children are very good at adapting and being hard of hearing usually causes more problem than is apparent. When your child gets older, listen and communicate a lot. Even if grades are high, and things seem to go well, it usually is difficult to be included at lunch time, Christmas dinner, school breaks, simply because there is too much noise around.
 
Its great your learning sign....keep it up..learning sign with her as a famly will bridge the chasm caused by deafness and hearing plms. Asl is a language perfectly suited for her.just remember...
ASL isnt just To support what your daughter hears, on the contrary its their to support her in communication...as a language...its not a crutch to aid missing english or a coded system for that...Just a heads up...
sign will.....(refer to my sig...
 
It's great she's getting hearing aids very early. You should ask the audiologist to help you make that choice between those models. I wouldn't understand either, but she may also not understand that you're confused unless you let her know.

You should also have trial periods to try both brands. I think it's 30 days. Ask her if both brands could be tried and then you decide which ones your daughter seems to respond best.
 
You should made sure the hearing aids are kids friendly . The battery door can be fixed so it can't be open by a child and it has red light that flash when the battery is going dead . This is so the parents can tell when it is time to put a new battery . I wanted a purple HA and my audi did not tell me it would be kid friendly one and has it a flashing light and it beep too when the battery is doing dead. It's an Oticon
 
Most kids can and do develop speech skills...but the sophsication of their verbal abilty can and does vary a lot. Just giving you a heads up on that.
There's very few "straight oral failures" (ie the type of kid who has such profound expressive speech delays that they absolutely NEED Sign for expressive communication) but it's still not that common to be perfectly on par (a la a hearing kid) with spoken language. It's still common for dhh kids to have expressive spoken language delays... The only difference is that they're not as severe as in the past, and it's not as hard for dhh kids to develop speech.
Even if your kid speaks well, it's important to meet your child halfway and learn ASL for THEM. It's only fair to meet your child halfway. They learned how to speak for you, so it's only fair for parents to learn to sign for their kid.
Sign can be VERY useful even for kids who learned to speak well.
It's important for a kid to have access to a full toolbox of communication options. Most Deaf ed offers a really good balance of speech/HOH style services and Sign. Keep an open mind and look into every and anything!
A good idea is to contact your local School/program for the Deaf. They can hook you up with all sorts of supports, advice etc: http://www.examiner.com/article/special-education-for-the-deaf-toronto
and https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServi...s/DHH Updated brochure 2014-2015 v. Dec 4.pdf
Contact the Toronto Association of the Deaf for support, help etc....http://www.deafontario.ca/deaf-outreach-program.html
 
Regarding the HA question.... we really cannot answer the question, since response to aids is so individual and varied.
 
Also, keep in mind, I was told that hearing aids should be upgraded like every 6 years, am I right? It's because technology changes a lot.
 
HappinessCounts said:
Also, keep in mind, I was told that hearing aids should be upgraded like every 6 years, am I right? It's because technology changes a lot.
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Ugh no..... HAs really do not change all that much. I hear the SAME with my digitals as I did with my analog BTEs back in the 80's.
 
I am I have severe to profound hearing loss and after researching the various brands I decided to get the Phonak SKY Q UP 70. I have found that along with the Roger intergrated FM system that I can hear speech better than with my old Starkey hearing aids. The Roger FM system is available on most Phonak models and is recommended for children when they get into school. Talking with a school for the deaf may help you and your family decide what is best. You may want your daughter in a Deaf School, mainstream school, private school, you may decide on cochlear implants and talking with people who interact with children who are deaf/hard of hearing. You alone know what is best for your daughter, people will try to change your mind but trust your instincts.
 
RiverSong said:
I am I have severe to profound hearing loss and after researching the various brands I decided to get the Phonak SKY Q UP 70. I have found that along with the Roger intergrated FM system that I can hear speech better than with my old Starkey hearing aids. The Roger FM system is available on most Phonak models and is recommended for children when they get into school. Talking with a school for the deaf may help you and your family decide what is best. You may want your daughter in a Deaf School, mainstream school, private school, you may decide on cochlear implants and talking with people who interact with children who are deaf/hard of hearing. You alone know what is best for your daughter, people will try to change your mind but trust your instincts.
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Absolutely no on Cochlear Implants for infants. You destroy the residual hearing and give no opportunity for using residual hearing and good hearing aids for better sound clarity and more natural sound. Three are also VERY difficult to program for infants and very inaccurate as to what sound the child is hearing. If the child responds with hearing aids to sound, they are getting equal or better results than CI.
Learn ASL. A visual/spacial language gives the deaf child 100% unrestricted access to a full natural language from both receptive and expressive sides. Full access to language is the way your child will develop and learn at a rate equal to any hearing child. There is no way for your Deaf child to do this with hearing aids or Cochlear Implants. Start learning ASL. And uses it all the time when you are talking in view of your child. Even if not taking to them. Happy to help you with resources, advice etc.
 
soutthpaw said:
Absolutely no on Cochlear Implants for infants. You destroy the residual hearing and give no opportunity for using residual hearing and good hearing aids for better sound clarity and more natural sound. Three are also VERY difficult to program for infants and very inaccurate as to what sound the child is hearing. If the child responds with hearing aids to sound, they are getting equal or better results than CI.
Learn ASL. A visual/spacial language gives the deaf child 100% unrestricted access to a full natural language from both receptive and expressive sides. Full access to language is the way your child will develop and learn at a rate equal to any hearing child. There is no way for your Deaf child to do this with hearing aids or Cochlear Implants. Start learning ASL. And uses it all the time when you are talking in view of your child. Even if not taking to them. Happy to help you with resources, advice etc.
Click to expand...

Well just so that we don't get a " Deaf people are being militantly anti CI" war going......(and you know it will happen as this place goes wild when CI is mentioned) CI is OK when there's little/no benefit from HAs.... That means ABSOLUTLY no benefit from them. It's just too hard to tell how well a baby hears....even with ABR. Keep the idea of CI on the table just in case, but also be really conservative about opting for the CI, unless it's ABSOLUTLY needed!
 
RiverSong said:
Talking with a school for the deaf may help you and your family decide what is best. You may want your daughter in a Deaf School, mainstream school, private school, you may decide on cochlear implants and talking with people who interact with children who are deaf/hard of hearing. You alone know what is best for your daughter, people will try to change your mind but trust your instincts.
Click to expand...
And regarding school..... keep an open mind and realize that say for example just b/c you place your kid in a deaf school for preschool/kindergarten, it's not nessarily a permanent placement decision. Idealy dhh kids should be able to take advantage of a variety of educational placement options. Like for example.....it would be an awesome idea to place a kid in a deaf school or a dhh program for preschool-1st/2nd grade to create a good solid foundation for mainstreaming. There are a variety of options etc... Just keep a SUPER open mind and look into every and anything!
 
HappinessCounts said:
Also, keep in mind, I was told that hearing aids should be upgraded like every 6 years, am I right? It's because technology changes a lot.
Click to expand...

The ear molds needs to remade as your child grown . The HA can feedback if the ear molds do not fit properly .
 
Thanks for all the feedback! There's still a lot to learn, but all the comments are helping. Our little one is being fitted for a loaner hearing aid in a few weeks. We're hoping for good results!
 
Jazoe said:
Thanks for all the feedback! There's still a lot to learn, but all the comments are helping. Our little one is being fitted for a loaner hearing aid in a few weeks. We're hoping for good results!
Click to expand...

Hoping that she'll respond well with aiding!!!! I think that a lot of severe kids do respond well to aiding and won't need hyper intense intervention. Be VERY "stand your ground" with fighting to get her ASL/Sign and other specialized interventions. A lot of times public schools (in UK, Canada, and the US) will try to rip kids off with a minimal accomondations approach, or be all " Oh nobody uses it" and try to discourage you from pursing ASL/deaf ed or whatever.
I would give the same advice if this was a blind/low vision forum and we had suggested looking into Braille and O&M and other b/lv interventions..... Public school special ed is great for say learning disabilities or other high incidence conditions.... but it's not very good for low incidence conditions.
 
Yeah blind/ low vision have lots that advocate maximizing residual vision and speak against using guide dogs etc. In an attempts to make the person fit in our be more "Normal" it's not going to happen... same as deaf child will never fit in with hearing peers . Will struggle with bullying and loneliness. Better to learn ASL and be around others that accept and understand them. Others that are like them will give the child a sense of "normalness"
 
soutthpaw said:
Yeah blind/ low vision have lots that advocate maximizing residual vision and speak against using guide dogs etc. In an attempts to make the person fit in our be more "Normal" it's not going to happen... same as deaf child will never fit in with hearing peers . Will struggle with bullying and loneliness. Better to learn ASL and be around others that accept and understand them. Others that are like them will give the child a sense of "normalness"
Click to expand...

Actually did you know only a very very tiny number of blind/low vision folks use guide dogs? I forget the exact number, but it's very low.
But yeah if a kid has a condition that may require specialized tecniques, interventions etc, it's always a good idea to give them those techniques, interventions, methodologies, and give them exposure to other kids just like them, instead of thinking that they'll magically assimulate into the hearing/sighted/nondisabled world... It's ALWAYS awesome to have connections with others just like you are!
 
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