Hearing aids | Imamother

amother

Mon, Mar 18 2024, 10:32 pm

DD is 7 and we have just been told by the ENT that she needs hearing aids. They did MRI to rule out anything else but couldn't give any diagnosis on what's the core cause of it since we have no history or family member with hearing loss and she never had any major ear infections, it came to us as a shock since we became aware only recently that she is not responding when we call her and when talking to her, I'm a bit lost in thoughts, can't think straight for the past few weeks, as far I was told there is no real cure only hearing aids can help but I would do anything if there is any hope or advice please let me know

amother

Bottlebrush

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 12:25 am

My daughter is around the same age as yours. She had hearing aids since she was a new born and got cochlear implants in preschool. BH she's a happy, confident, friendly, outgoing bais Yaakov girl. It has its challenges, of course, and it's definitely a shock at first. (We also had no history whatsoever of hearing loss in either family.)

Some tips: make sure you have an excellent audiologist. Make sure you're not subconsciously showing her that you're embarrassed or want to hide her hearing aids. This is likely her reality for the rest of her life. Give her confidence and make it no big deal. Get all the speech and hearing therapy she's entitled to.

amother

Maroon

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 12:51 am

My son, age 8, has a hearing aid. It's fine. He has a long history of problems different than your daughter's.

Something I have heard for a case like yours is to cut out dairy. I know someone who at that age showed signs of hearing loss, and they were recommending hearing aids. Her mother cut out dairy and it resolved within a few weeks. She was able to start up dairy again not too long after with no repursussions.

amother

Chicory

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 12:54 am

My husband has hearing aids too. The ones nowadays are smaller than airpods and his are even Bluetooth and uses them like airpods as well and directly takes calls from them, listens to music etc

He did a full genetic panel and they concluded it's not genetic. No one else in his family has and none of our kids do.

It's not a big deal really.

amother

Moccasin

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 4:22 am

Make sure you have a good audiologist. Is the hearing loss conductive or sensorineural?
I will second other posters, if you act natural about hearing aids then she will fell less self conscious about them and it will be easier for her. I would also walk her through some lines to say or answers for when another child makes a comment or asks about it so she isn't caught off guard. It isn't different than glasses really, just less common.

amother

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 8:02 am

amother Moccasin wrote:

it's sensorineural hearing loss, I was referred by chaim medical to Dr lustig in Columbia but didn't see him yet. That phrase it's like glasses is very nice to say but in my opinion untrue or even similar would you marry your boy with glasses to a girl with hearing aids?

amother

Blushpink

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 8:15 am

amother OP wrote:

Yes. My daughter married a boy who has hearing loss (and it actually is genetic in his case). He told her about it early on, and she liked him and continued dating him, we spoke to doctors, etc....and she married him. She really doesn't see hearing aids as such a big deal. He did not have it early on so it did not affect his speech development.

amother

Yolk

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 8:16 am

amother OP wrote:

If they like each other, why would I object?

amother

Moccasin

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 10:30 am

amother OP wrote:

My daughter has both 😏.
Honestly it was hard to absorb in the beginning but good hearing is important so I allowed myself to grieve and be frustrated and upset about it yet still move on with what she needed

amother

Banana

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 10:37 am

amother OP wrote:

I would be perfectly ok with it.

amother

Chicory

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 10:40 am

amother OP wrote:

I dated one. It's minor enough that if he tells her on a date and she already likes him she wouldn't stop dating. In genetic cases I don't know 100% though

amother

Blushpink

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 10:42 am

amother Chicory wrote:

I dated one. It's minor enough that if he tells her on a date and she already likes him she wouldn't stop dating. In genetic cases I don't know 100% though

My daughter says so many people have "something in their ears" these days that are so much more obvious than hearing aids. Walking around with a bluetooth device is totally normal. She didn't see the big deal marrying a guy who has tiny hearing aids you hardly notice..... There are so many things out there to compromise on in marriage, she didn't see this as a big one.

amother

Hyacinth

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 11:05 am

I married in to a family that has many members that are deaf. They are all totally normal (in the relative sense of the term). I don’t. See it as any deficit at all. It’s more my issue that I didn’t speak their language so I had to learn it to communicate with them the same way I’d learn a different spoken language if that was what my in laws spoke.

SunShineSimcha613

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 4:38 pm

First of all hugs and a deep breath for you! This must have been quite a shock and there are probably tons of emotions too. Make sure that you have a good audiologist and ent that communicate well with eachother and with you.

Our child was born with hearing loss and we went through loads of testing, to then try hearing aids, and ultimately got cochlear implants. It was shocking to us as we also had no history of hearing loss in the family. Bh, DC is thriving and loves to sing and listen to stories! We are so grateful that such amazing technology exists!

Are there any frum resources in your area for kids who are deaf or hard of hearing? It might help you to hear from/see other families and how they are working through this challenge.

SunShineSimcha613

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 4:52 pm

There are lots of good books for kids about having hearing aids. You could check out some from the library.

SunShineSimcha613

Tue, Mar 19 2024, 7:24 pm

Sorry for so many posts. I have really been thinking about you.

I would also say that you need to give yourself time and permission to grieve and accept the situation, however at the same time, don't let it hold you back from making the appointments necessary for your daughter.

Even mild to moderate hearing loss is a big deal. You want your daughter to be able to have access to all of the wonderful sounds that surround us.