When a young child wears hearing aids, how do you know that they are hearing everything they should be in the classroom and socially? Children, more than adults, often get distracted and don’t pay attention when someone is talking to them or the group they are a part of.

What can you do as a parent to ensure your child is hearing everything around them throughout their day?

Here are a few brief tips:

• Check with all school personnel that your child interacts with throughout their day. This includes school administrators, librarians, music and art teachers, physical education instructors, and cafeteria staff. Also, if your child participates in after-school activities or sports, talk to the instructors and coaches as well.

• Your child’s classroom teacher may notice different concerns than the recess monitor or cafeteria assistant. This is why it is important to get a broad spectrum of observations from the various teachers and staff that interact with your child on a daily basis. Your child’s classroom teacher may notice your child not paying attention during specific school subjects, but your child’s art teacher may notice that your child engages in her classroom extremely well.

• Having multiple observations and putting them together in an overall analysis can help you understand how your child is doing throughout the day. If one teacher sees a lack of interaction, but another sees high levels of collaboration, then the issue may not be hearing.

What is the next step after collecting observations about your child’s hearing?

Once you gather all observations, make an appointment with your child’s audiologist to discuss the findings and determine if your child needs a different hearing aid or adjustments to their current hearing aids. As your child grows, his or her needs will change and their hearing aids will need to grow with them.

If you are concerned with your child’s hearing aids, contact us for an appointment at Sound Hearing Care to meet with one of our hearing care specialists. We have four convenient locations including Simpsonville, Greer, Travelers Rest, and Greenville.