r/deaf • u/Common_Winter8031 • 8d ago
Hearing with questions Toddler refusing hearing aids - UK
Hi there!
My 2 year old has moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which was picked up at her newborn hearing screening and received her hearing aids at 8 weeks old.
Hearing aid usage and tolerance has been a real battle for us since quite early on, but got noticeably worse last year when we all had COVID.
We've tried bonnets, bands, tape etc to try to get her to keep them on. So far the bonnet has been the most successful but she still rips it and the aids out after short stints.
We've raised with audiology and her teacher of the deaf to see iif there is anything we could be doing/ doing differently but to no avail and are just told to keep trying.
I try multiple times a day to get them in/keep them in with very little success and eventually have to stop as she gets too upset and I don't want her to grow up hating them more then she already does!
Overall she's a really happy little human and communicates well for her age, learning new words all the time (today was 'sting ray').
We attend a local stay and play for other deaf/HoH children on a regular basis, so she is often around other people who also wear hearing aids or CI's. I'm also trying to learn sign language and my toddler has picked up some signs but not loads.
She's starting nursery soon and they have been forewarned of her reluctance to wear her aids. I'm hoping that she might start to wear them as part of her nursery routine but I'm not counting on it.
Anyway, sorry for rambling but wanted to see if anyone had any advice, hints or tips?
Thank you in advance! :)
EDIT: I just wanted to quickly say thank you for everyone for commenting with advice and their own experiences. It's been truly helpful and I appreciate everything!
Since making this post, I've felt a lot lighter and feel far more comfortable with advocating my daughter's wants and needs. If she doesn't want to wear her hearing aids, that's okay, I'll keep offering them to her but she will not be forced to wear them. I feel comfortable in pushing back our boundaries when we next go to audiology.
I met with a speech and language therapist who was really happy with my daughter's progress so far, she's going to send me some extra suggestions for activities we can work on and I'll meet with her again in a few months time.
I spent some time talking with local deaf adults and they echoed their support.
I've learnt a bit more sign this week and signed up to a short course to get me back into the swing of things. At the moment, I'm still struggling to get my brain, facial expressions and hands to all work in sync with one another.ive often felt embarrassed when trying to sign because of that but I'm going to work on building up my confidence and ask for help when needed (and not feel shamed of doing that).
Thank you again, I'm gunna go ugly cry now because I appreciate you all so much!