Getting used to hearing aids again
Published Date: 18 Mar 2021
When the lockdown began and the schools closed it was devastating for my son. Bodhi loves school and the routine and structure it brings – overnight that was gone.
The day after lockdown began Bodhi decided he wasn’t going to wear clothes, just his pyjamas. He also decided he wouldn’t wear his hearing aid, as he didn’t need to now he wasn’t at school. It was all about comfort to him, and wearing his hearing aid isn’t comfortable.
Bodhi only got dressed into ‘normal’ clothes a handful of times throughout lockdown, when we went out for walks, but he still refused to wear his hearing aid.
When the schools went back last September, it meant that Bodhi had to start wearing his restricting school uniform again, and worse, his hearing aid. He was happy to get back to school, routine and seeing his friends, but he wasn’t happy wearing his hearing aid.
Every morning for the first few days after going back to school he would say that his hearing aid hurt his ear, it was uncomfortable and it ended up with him trying to walk out the door without it in his ear. He didn’t think he needed to wear his hearing aid anymore as he said he’d been fine during lockdown without it. He thought that his hearing had come back but in fact he had forgotten that we had had to raise our voices more to get his attention. He forgot that most of the time he watches subtitles when watching TV, rather than actually listening to the programmes. In fact, during lockdown we received a letter from the audiology consultant to say that we wouldn’t need a yearly check-up as Bodhi’s hearing was stable and consistent. They said to only contact them if there were any changes and to continue with his normal audiology appointments.
After going back to school Bodhi’s hearing aid mould broke. We rang the audiology department and were given an appointment quite quickly to our surprise. My son and husband went to the appointment and Bodhi was measured for a new mould. However, due to COVID-19, the mould, which would normally come within a week, took over two weeks to be delivered to us, which we fully understood given the situation. This meant that Bodhi wasn’t wearing his hearing aid for over three weeks. His teacher was fully aware of the situation and assured us he’d keep an eye on Bodhi and would make sure he was moved towards the front of the class.
Once the hearing aid mould came, we had to face getting Bodhi to wear his hearing aid yet again. This time he said the hearing aid made everything sound robotic, we knew he had just got used to not wearing it, as he thought it was uncomfortable. We’re encouraging him to wear it as much as he can, and allowing him to remove it as soon as he comes home from school.
He also removes it while doing PE because he says it’s uncomfortable. He’s 10 now, and we know he is more self-conscious about his hearing aid than in previous years. We think it’s better for us to encourage him as much as we can to wear it, rather than him not wear it at all. He is a bright young boy and he knows to ask for help at school if he can’t hear so well, and he knows his coping strategies at home. Hopefully, over the next few years he will learn to love his difference.
