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Getting
the help your child needs
As
a parent, you have the opportunity to be involved in the professional
care your child receives. You should expect very open communication
with all professionals involved, and you should feel comfortable
asking any questions at all and only settle for explanations which
are in terms you clearly understand.
The
management of a child’s hearing loss poses a significant challenge
to the hearing healthcare professional. It is an ongoing process
which may involve some trial and error in the beginning until
the best strategy is found. The final strategy – a combination
of amplification type, communication method and training, teaching
method, etc. – will be that which gives your child the best sound
and the best opportunities for communication and learning. In
short, the goal is optimum quality of life. And with the technology
and skills available today, you and your child can expect a lot!
Amplification
of sounds is your hearing impaired child’s key to communication
with the hearing world. In order to give your child optimum auditory
stimulation, amplification should be implemented soon after diagnosis.
Of course, amplification does not reverse the hearing loss, but
it enables your child to hear sounds that otherwise would be too
soft to hear. There are two forms of amplification:
Hearing
aids
The use of hearing aids enables your child to utilize his or her
remaining hearing ability in order to optimize the perception
of sound. Hearing aids provide amplification and special sound
processing to help give your child an optimum representation of
sounds which are found in a normal environment.
Cochlear
implant
The cochlear implant is a miniature device which enables children
with profound hearing loss to perceive sound. The device includes
an array of electrodes implanted within the cochlea of the inner
ear. The electrodes generate electrical activity which is used
to directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve then
passes this information along to the hearing centre of the brain.
Because
the implant is inserted within the inner ear, the implant inadvertently
destroys any remaining sensory cells, or "hair" cells, of the
inner ear. However, since children with bilateral profound hearing
loss have no or very few inner hair cells, the elimination of
these few remaining inner hair cells is warranted by the amount
of hearing which will be provided by the cochlear implant. Thus
implantation is usually recommended for children with profound
hearing loss in both ears that have shown little prior success
with hearing aids. Cochlear implantation can be a good alternative
in this situation. The implantation rarely takes place before
the child is 18 months old. Candidacy for a cochlear implant is
also highly scrutinized.
This
article courtesy of Widex
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