Hearing Aids:
What do they do?
Hearing Aids amplify and shape incoming sounds to make them audible to an ear that could not detect them. They aid and assist in hearing speech, environmental and safety sounds. Hearing aids are for children who have sensorineural hearing losses, conductive hearing losses, or single sided deafness. The severity of the hearing loss can range from mild to severe.
Hearing aids do not require a surgery. The audiologist will take a mold of the child's ear in order to create the piece that fits into the ear. After the mold is created, they are attached to the hearing aid and the audiologist, parent and child work together to determine the correct settings for the volumes in the hearing aid in an audiology booth. It's not uncommon for you to have to go back a few times to get the settings just right for the hearing loss.
Brands:Phonak, Oticon, ReSound, Starkey, Sieman and Widex
These 6 brands are the leaders in the hearing aid industry because they invest an enormous amount of time, money, research and development of new, innovative products. (https://www.newsoundhearing.com/blog/best-hearing-aid-brand/)
Phonak and Oticon hearing aids are the ones that I see the most out in the field. In my experience, 80-90% of my kids use Phonak. I love Phonak because they have created so many amazing pieces of technology and devices to use in the classroom, most notably, personal FM Systems. (See FM Systems CC for more information)
Cochlear Implants:
What do they do? Cochlear Implants are electronic medical devices that replace the function of a damaged inner ear. They are surgically implanted. This surgery takes up to 3 or 4 hours. Cochlear Implants are for children who have severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.
Cochlear Implants require a surgery and is typically done one ear at a time. The healing time for a CI surgery is about 3 to 6 weeks. During that time period, the child is not hearing yet. The incision has to heal before the processor can be used and turned on. After the surgery and appropriate healing time, the audiologist will “active” the implant. Sounds are played and responses are recorded. They are not perfectly set the first visit; it takes many visits, and time to adjust to the sound before they will be perfectly mapped to the child’s hearing loss.
Brands: Cochlear America, Advanced Bionics, Med El
Current research shows that there is no significant difference in hearing outcomes for the three different brands, but each brand is said to have its own strengths and weaknesses. (https://northsideaudiology.com.au/cochlear-implant-brands-sydney/)
Cochlear America and Advanced Bionics are the ones that I mostly see out in the field. In my experience, I have about 50/50 with Cochlear America and Advanced Bionics. I have yet to see a child with a Med El implant. All of these brands are compatible with personal FM systems. (See FM systems page for more information)
All 3 brands have waterproof technology available
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