Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids sit behind your child’s ears and connect through a small tube to a custom-fit earpiece called an earmold. A microphone picks up sounds, and the hearing aid processes and makes those sounds louder before sending them through the earmold into your child’s ear.

Your child’s audiologist programs the hearing aids for their specific hearing needs, helping them hear speech and everyday sounds at comfortable levels. As your child grows, the earmolds can be replaced while keeping the same hearing aids.

Our pediatric audiologists will help your family choose the right hearing aids, explain how to use and care for them, and provide ongoing adjustments and support.

Bone conduction hearing devices may help children whose hearing loss involves the outer or middle ear, or children who are deaf in one ear. These devices pick up sound and turn it into gentle vibrations that travel through the bone to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear. For children who are deaf in one ear, the vibrations carry sound to the better-hearing ear.

Young children can wear the device on a soft headband, allowing them to use it without surgery. A surgically implanted option may be available depending on your child’s age, hearing needs, and the type of device.

Our pediatric audiologists will help determine whether a bone conduction hearing device is a good fit for your child, explain the available options, and guide your family through using and caring for it.

How Does a cochlear implant work?

With sensorineural hearing loss, parts of the inner ear are missing or damaged. Hearing aids make sounds louder so the ear can use the sounds it still receives. Many people with mild to moderate hearing loss do very well with hearing aids. When hearing loss becomes more severe, simply making sounds louder may not be enough to understand words because the inner ear is so damaged. In this case, a cochlear implant can be placed in the ear to bypass the damaged part of the inner ear and send sound signals directly to the hearing nerve.

Who might be a candidate?

You may benefit from a cochlear implant evaluation if:

• You feel that hearing aids are no longer providing enough benefit

• You rely on lipreading to understand what people are saying

• You are motivated to improve your hearing

What are the benefits?

Although every person’s experience is unique, many cochlear implant users experience:

• Better speech understanding

• Improved communication in everyday situations

• Greater confidence and quality of life

What happens during a cochlear implant evaluation?

During your 2-hour cochlear implant evaluation, our team will:

• Review your hearing and medical history and discuss your hearing goals

• Complete any additional hearing tests, including how well you understand speech with hearing aids

• Review how cochlear implants work and answer any questions you may have

• Discuss next steps such as medical evaluation with a cochlear implant surgeon