The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) reports that “Among adults aged 45 and over, hearing difficulties increased with age among men and women.” If you’re among this age group and wear hearing aids, you may be wondering how to help your grandchildren understand why you’re wearing them. We review how to do this below.
Educate Your Grandchildren About Your Hearing Loss
First, you should educate your grandchildren about what it means for you to have hearing loss. This conversation will varybased on their age and maturity level. With younger children, you can simply say that sometimes older ears often don’t work as well as younger ears. With older children, you can talk about the factors that lead to hearing loss, such as being exposed to loud noises, getting older, taking certain medications, having specific medical conditions, etc., and how they can protect their hearing health.
“Show and Tell” Your Hearing Aids
After you’ve told your grandchildren what it means to have hearing loss, you can show your grandchildren your hearing aids and tell them how they work. If you are comfortable doing so, you can let your grandchildren hold your hearing aids. Tell them that the microphone picks up sounds in your environment, the processor amplifies the sounds to the exact volume you need to hear, and the receiver delivers the louder sounds to your ears. You can also open up the battery compartment and show them that your hearing aids run on batteries, just like their favorite toys.
Discuss Communication Strategies
Finally, tell your grandchildren that even though you’ll be able to hear them better with your hearing aids, your hearing still isn’t perfect. Discuss what communication strategies you prefer to use, like having them say your name before they start talking to you, making sure you’re in the same room facing each other when having a conversation, speaking clearly and rephrasing rather than repeating if you don’t understand. Your grandchildren love you and want to communicate with you, and they’ll be happy to follow these strategies if you communicate them clearly.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call Center for Hearing & Speech today.
