An opportunity for grandparents
DO you have difficulties getting the spoken message due to a hearing loss?
Are you regularly in contact with young children?
If the answer to both these questions is yes, you have a great opportunity to add something very special to the children in your life, especially if they are still quite young.
It is great to assist children, even pre-schoolers, to learn strategies to help you get the message.
If they begin practicing those techniques now, this will stay with them into adulthood.
They will be better communicators in the future, which is especially important as they encounter other people with hearing loss in their workplaces or personal life.
What suggestions can you make to encourage this?
Think about what you would like other people to do to assist you.
It is easier to get the message when you can see the speaker’s face and when there is less background noise.
Give the child the idea by saying ‘I really like watching your face when we are talking’ or ‘you are talking at a great level for me to hear.’
Let the kids know when they are doing the right thing, trying to be positive in your comments.
It is better to replace comments like ‘you talk too fast (or loud or soft)’ with comments about the good things.
The child will then strive to be rewarded again by repeating the good behaviour (talking at the right level, speed, etc).
If there is too much noise, you can say something like ‘I really want to hear all about that, do you think we could turn off the radio for a while?’
If they frequently turn around to face the other way while talking, you can comment about how much you like to watch their face.
Children today are growing up with lots of technology in their lives.
They will be happy to have a look at your hearing aids and discover how they should look in your ears.
Don’t try to hide your hearing aids from them.
They are likely to be fascinated if you have recently updated your aids and you can connect directly via Bluetooth to your mobile phone or perhaps a television device to help you get the message better.
In fact, it won’t be long before they are able to assist you to learn how to use an app on your mobile to change the settings on your hearing aids.
Even the possibility of rechargeable hearing aids will be interesting for them.
If you have questions about any of these topics, please contact Wangaratta Audiology on (03) 5722 4433.
Please take the opportunity to assist the young children in your life to become better communicators - people who have a hearing problem in the future will thank you.