Has your child just started wearing a BAHA headband? Or perhaps you’ve been told that they would benefit from one in the future? As a parent, you’ll probably have lots of questions and will want to know how you can help your child adapt to their new hearing device. In this blog we’ll look at helping your child adjust to a BAHA headband, as well as some of the most common issues when getting used to a BAHA and how to overcome them.
How Soon Will My Child Adjust to Their BAHA?
No matter what your child’s age, getting used to wearing a BAHA headband can take time.
With an older child, you can take the time to explain their BAHA, how it will help and why it’s important to wear and take care of it. They can also more clearly communicate their own thoughts and feelings about it, letting you know if it’s uncomfortable or if they feel self-conscious, for example. This can help them adjust quicker.
A younger child or baby, on the other hand, won’t necessarily understand why they suddenly need to wear a hearing device on a headband and so it may take longer for them to adapt and require a bit more trial and error and patience before they’re happy to wear it for long periods.
The general advice is to start off slow and build up gradually. You may want to try getting your child used to wearing the headband alone first, without the hearing aid attached. This is particularly helpful if you have a baby or toddler or a child who experiences sensory issues. Getting used to wearing a headband and having adjusted hearing is a lot to deal with in one go!
You can then add the BAHA processor to the headband and encourage your child to wear it for short periods, gradually increasing over a period of days and weeks.
For more advice on helping your baby get used to a BAHA headband, see our recent blog, Are BAHA Headbands Suitable For Babies?
What If My Child Doesn’t Like Their BAHA Headband?
Children might struggle to wear their BAHA headband for various reasons, whether it’s sensory overload in the early days, or feeling like the odd one out at nursery or school. The important thing is to identify what’s at the heart of the problem so you can explore possible solutions.
Sensory overload can be overcome by encouraging your child to wear their BAHA for short periods in less stimulating environments so they begin to feel positively about their BAHA headband and can start to experience some of the benefits. For example, if you have a baby or toddler, a trip to the park to feed the ducks in their pram is a good opportunity to try it out, whereas a noisy playgroup or soft play might not be the best introduction!
If it’s a case of your child feeling self conscious about their BAHA, then offering them some ownership over their hearing device is a great way to get them feeling positive about wearing it. You can do this by allowing them to customise their BAHA processor with BAHA stickers or giving them an option of custom BAHA headbands to choose from. This helps them to think of their new hearing aid as a fun accessory to enjoy, rather than a medical device that sets them apart from others.
Toy BAHAs for dolls or teddy bears can also work well for younger children as having a favourite toy who also wears a bone-anchored hearing aid, helps them to feel less alone. Similarly, representation is crucial, so watching TV shows or reading books that feature characters who wear hearing aids can be a big help.
You could even ask their nursery or school to get involved or offer to do a talk on what a BAHA is and how it helps your child so that classmates can understand and appreciate why your child needs to wear it. You may be surprised to find that pretty soon, many of their classmates will also be wanting their own custom BAHA headband to wear!
Get In Touch
Hopefully this blog will have given you some ideas for how to help your child adjust to wearing a BAHA headband. For more advice on BAHA wearing, visit our blog. If you have any other questions about BAHA headbands and accessories, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.
We’d also be more than happy to talk you through our various products and designs and their different functions to make sure that they’re the right choice for you. Get in touch today by calling us on 07432 620644 or emailing sales@bahaaccessoriesuk.com. You can also contact us online. We look forward to hearing from you!