Tips for a successful school year for children with hearing loss

This post is courtesy of Dr. Amy Arthur, Director of Audiology for Children's Ear, Nose, Throat and Allergy.  These are recommendations for establishing a good base for a successful school year for your child with hearing loss.

 Annual Audiogram and ENT check up:  August is the perfect time to schedule an annual audiogram with your child’s audiologist.  Many families find it helpful to schedule in August while they are planning for back to school.  It serves as a reminder and they make it a part of their back to school routine, along with school supplies, clothes and shoes.   Annual audiograms are important to rule out that there have been no significant changes to your child’s hearing loss over the last 12 months.  In addition, your child should be seen by their Otolaryngologist at least once a year to monitor for any medical changes that can be common with hearing loss.

Annual Hearing aid/Cochlear Implant Check:   Following the annual hearing test, your child’s audiologist should ensure that your child’s hearing aids are working optimally.  With Behind-the-ear hearing aids, the most common type of hearing aids worn by children, earmolds need to fit well to prevent a reduction in amplification and annoying feedback.  It is typical that when a child’s shoe size has changed, there will be a need for new earmolds, once again coinciding with the back to school routine.  The hearing aids can be cleaned and checked, the proper amplification can be verified electroacoustically in the office.  If there is a problem with the electronics, then the devices can be sent to the manufacturer to be repaired in time for school to start.  If your child uses a Cochlear Implant (CI) this is a good time to schedule a re-mapping session with the audiologist.  You should schedule this appointment a few weeks before the start of school to allow your child to acclimate to the changes to the CI map. 

 Meet the Teacher:  Discuss your child’s hearing loss with the new teacher.  Many children with hearing loss attend schools that have an emphasis on working with children who are deaf and hard of hearing.  If this is your child’s situation, the teachers in your child’s classrooms will likely have a lot of experience teaching children with hearing loss.  However, if your child is mainstreamed, the teacher may not have this experience.  Talk to your child’s teacher and find out what their experiences are.  If they have not had a child with hearing loss and amplification, you may have to advocate for your child and set a time to meet with the teacher to give them the tools they need to help your child if the hearing aid fails.  This is a great way to have some private time to educate the teacher on your child’s strengths and weaknesses in the classroom.  If you are uncomfortable or unable to do this, most school systems have educational audiologists whose job it is to be a liaison for the child and the classroom teacher. 

 Collaborate:  Early in the school year a team should gather to discuss your child’s academic year.  This is typically carried out at the Individual Educational Plan (IEP) meeting for the school year.   At this meeting, the teacher, audiologists, speech language pathologists, administrators and parents gather to assess the needs of the child and to plan goals.  This meeting is a great opportunity to discuss any concerns you have for your child or request further assistance if needed.  It is possible that your child may need further accommodations, such as an interpreter or an FM system in the classroom.  The team will discuss your child’s needs and plan accordingly.

Back to school is a great time to accomplish all of these goals for your child, but they can be completed anytime throughout the year.  To make an appointment for your child with our Doctors or Audiologists, please call 407-253-1000.  We look forward to meeting you.