Hesperian Health Guides
Types of hearing aids
Here are 2 of the most common hearing aids that children use:
| Behind-the-ear (BTE) aid | |
 earmold (the part that fits in the ear) |
This is how a child wears a BTE aid. |
Body aid
 earmold |
 This is how a child wears a body aid. |
At one school for deaf children in India, all children wear the hearing aids in a harness on the chest. The harness is on the chest so the microphones can help the child hear his own voice. The harness is made of thick cotton cloth, to reduce noise from cloth. The microphones of the hearing aid are kept in pockets. These pockets are tight (to reduce cloth noise) and they keep the microphone visible.
Babies can begin wearing hearing aids when they
are as young as 3 months old.
are as young as 3 months old.
If a child can use a hearing aid, it is best for the child to begin wearing the aid as soon as possible. This way he can get used to hearing sounds and start learning what they mean. To get the most help from his hearing aid, he should wear it all the time, except when he is bathing or sleeping.