If your child has hearing aids, please bring them to every appointment.
During your hearing aid review appointment, your child will likely have a hearing assessment, the hearing aid settings will likely be checked and we may also do some testing with the hearing aids to check that they are working well.
We can take impressions for new earmoulds if needed and we can give you any hearing aid supplies that you may need such as batteries and tubing.
If you are attending a hearing aid maintenance appointment, this will likely be to troubleshoot a faulty hearing aid, make small adjustments to the hearing aid(s) or for impressions to be taken for new earmould(s) to be made.
The results of the appointment are usually discussed with you on the day, with a written report sent to you afterwards.
We provide hearing aids which use the latest technology. Your child’s audiologist will consider several factors such as severity and configuration of the hearing loss as well as the shape/size of the child’s ear canal when recommending the type of hearing aid so that your child can have the best outcome possible.
Your child may be offered or fitted with:
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Behind-the-ear hearing aid(s)
Behind-the-ear hearing aids usually consist of an electronic component that sits behind the ear which picks up sound and processes it digitally to make it louder and clearer, this is then sent through tubing or a thin wire into the ear canal via an earmould or a dome style that doesn’t block the entire ear canal opening. These are often fitted on children with a sensorineural hearing loss and/or stable hearing levels.
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Bone conduction hearing aid(s)
This type of hearing aid usually sits on a soft headband. A bone conduction hearing aid works but re-routing sound. The microphone on the bone conduction hearing aid picks up sounds, converts the sound into vibrations which are then transmitted by the transducer through the bone behind the ear (the mastoid) to the inner hearing organ (cochlea), bypassing the outer and middle ear. These are often fitted to children with a conductive or mixed hearing loss, or with a hearing loss in only one ear.
Please see the bone conduction hearing aid (PDF 257Kb) leaflet for more information.
If you have any questions about your child's hearing aid, please call us on 020 3049 8592 and speak to one of the audiologists.
Earmoulds
If your child needs a new earmould, you can book a short hearing aid maintenance appointment at St Thomas' Hospital, Sunshine House or Kaleidoscope. To book an appointment please call us on 020 3049 8592.
To help your child understand how impressions are taken for new earmoulds, please watch our short film about making earmoulds.
Broken or lost hearing aids
If your child has been given a hearing aid and it gets lost or broken, please contact us on our appointments line or via email. Our administration staff may run through some short troubleshooting questions to try find the best solution.
Most often, it is helpful to be seen for a hearing aid maintenance appointment at St Thomas' Hospital, Sunshine House or Kaleidoscope to get a replacement/loan hearing aid.
Batteries
Batteries can be collected at any appointment or contact our admin team via phone or email to request batteries be post to your address
Most hearing aid(s) use button cell batteries. Tamperproof battery compartments are provided for families with young children and should be securely fastened when the hearing aid(s) is/are in use.
When they are not in use, the battery compartment should be opened to switch off the hearing aid, and the hearing aid should be stored out of sight and reach of young children.
Used batteries should be kept away from young children and safely disposed of at battery recycling points.
If your child swallows a battery seek immediate medical attention and do not let them eat or drink until a doctor can determine if a battery is present. Take the battery packaging with you and tell the doctor that the batteries are ‘zinc air’ batteries for hearing aids.
Further advice can be found in the hearing aid battery safety leaflet (PDF 345Kb)