Re: ITE Infant Hearing Aid

[Guest guest]

The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so very much that

I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and anything

into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to the hospital on

several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good for him, not to

mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is a kid without

hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in their noses

either. But it is so common with little ones, and those batteries are so

dangerous to ingest.

How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM system with

them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is no way the kid

would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would have been

too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap onto his aids and

no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on because he forgot

they were there.

I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi given about

safety

concerns? I'm very curious.

Thanks -- Jill

[Guest guest]

I wondered the same. My older son, Tom, STILL puts stuff in his mouth and he's

12! (ITE means an " in the ear " hearing aid for those of you new to all this -

it's not a suitable aid at this point for severe/profound losses) We actually

had protectors on the battery doors of both my boys' first BTE hearing aids so

they couldn't ingest the battery. Ditto Jill's thoughts on the FM system - how

does an ITE work with an FM system or a neckloop? My boys would be lost without

their FMs and the neckloops.

I'm really glad that it's working for you - like Jill, I'm curious to know what

your audiologist says about safety. That would be my main concern having one

kid in the ER after swallowing a time a dime and the second with RICE in his

ears (don't ask!).

Barbara

--- You wrote:

The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so very much that

I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and anything

into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to the hospital on

several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good for him, not to

mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is a kid without

hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in their noses

either. But it is so common with little ones, and those batteries are so

dangerous to ingest.

How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM system with

them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is no way the kid

would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would have been

too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap onto his aids and

no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on because he forgot

they were there.

I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi given about

safety

concerns? I'm very curious.

--- end of quote ---

[Guest guest]

Hi Kerry,

We own a pair of BTEs and plan on using them during the turn around periods,

which will likely be about a week. No tweaking to date. And yes, it could as

little as three months --we are in wait and see mode. The material is

softer/stickier than her earmolds. You know those stress balls that you squish?

Something like that but firmer. No, zero, zip feedback--unless the microphone

is directly covered by a hand or something. Unfortunatley, this is not an

inexpensive undertaking and we are prepared to invest what ever we need to...

12K a year, more? Regarding an active toddler--to be continued!

Kerry Dowling & Dan wrote:

Hi -

What are you doing about loaner aids while the regular ITEs are recast

every six months? Or will you send in one aid at a time and have your

daughter just wear one aid for a few weeks? Have you done any tweaking

to the soft mold parts yet? We go through ear molds so quickly on my

daughter (who is almost 3 1/2 yrs now) that I can't imagine getting a

fit to last six months-- we replace molds about every six weeks still.

Do you have problems with feedback that you just live with? Re: the

cost; what do you expect to be paying every year for recastings?

While an ITE would never be an option for our daughter's severe loss,

I'm trying to understand how some of the basic challenges we've

experienced would be resolved with this style of aid. I do hope you

continue to post updates as she grows; I'd be very interested to see if

you continue to have this level of satisfaction and what kinds of

challenges you face with an ITE in an active toddler.

Kerry

Mom to Hadley, 3, severe bilateral loss, HAs, AVT

All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the

intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

[Guest guest]

Thats what I was thinking Jill. I have saved ear molds from Ians tummy a

few times....and his TOD says that lots of kids bite them in half at this

age....

Tawnya

Re: ITE Infant Hearing Aid

>The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so very much

that

>I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and anything

>into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to the hospital

on

>several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good for him, not

to

>mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is a kid

without

>hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in their noses

>either. But it is so common with little ones, and those batteries are so

>dangerous to ingest.

>

>How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM system with

>them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is no way the

kid

>would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would have been

>too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap onto his aids

and

>no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on because he

forgot

>they were there.

>

>I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

>babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi given about

safety

>concerns? I'm very curious.

>

>Thanks -- Jill

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Howdy Jill (et al),

I will do my best to answer your concerns.

Safety: Yes, of course safety is a concern for all of us parents

with babies / small children that wear hearing aids. Since a BTE

comes in three component parts (e.g., earmold, tubing, and the aid -

- not to mention the battery), we viewed the ITE, which is the size

of an earmold but stays in place much better, as no more of risk.

As I stated in my original post, our daughter was adept at removing

and taking apart her BTEs by the time she was five months old. And

to date, she does not touch her ITEs, which means she is getting

more quality hearing time. This is key since we want her to hear as

much language and sound as possible during these crucial development

months. Regardless of the hearing instrument worn (BTE/ITE), our

daughter is supervised at all times while wearing hearing aids.

FM System: Yes, we plan on using a FM System when our daughter

enters pre-school. I am working to create/find a compatible wireless

FM system. However, if we needed to use a BTE we would. We do not

view the addressing of our daughter's hearing loss as a static

process. In all likelihood, we would go with what ever system combo

delivers the best quality sound.

Please know my goal was simply to share my experience as it might be

helpful to others. It was not my intention to sell anyone on the

new high tech ITEs. As every hearing loss and child differ, we took

a chance and discovered that the state-of-the-art ITEs are the best

fit for our daughter during this stage in her life.

Best,

> The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so very

much that

> I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and

anything

> into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to the

hospital on

> several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good for

him, not to

> mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is a

kid without

> hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in

their noses

> either. But it is so common with little ones, and those batteries

are so

> dangerous to ingest.

>

> How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM

system with

> them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is no

way the kid

> would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would

have been

> too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap onto

his aids and

> no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on because

he forgot

> they were there.

>

> I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

> babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi

given about safety

> concerns? I'm very curious.

>

> Thanks -- Jill

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My understanding is that the ITEs have a telicoil, making them

compatible with a neckloop. I was surprised to hear from Jill that

kids would be uptight about wearing a neckloop, especially since

teens seem to have cell phone head sets and I-Pods hanging off their

heads at all times:)

Best,

> The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so very

much that

> I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and

anything

> into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to the

hospital on

> several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good for

him, not to

> mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is a

kid without

> hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in

their noses

> either. But it is so common with little ones, and those batteries

are so

> dangerous to ingest.

>

> How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM

system with

> them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is no

way the kid

> would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would

have been

> too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap onto

his aids and

> no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on because

he forgot

> they were there.

>

> I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

> babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi

given about

> safety

> concerns? I'm very curious.

> --- end of quote ---

[Guest guest]

I would guess that Jill meant that because it isn't something that everyone

had or some kind of trendy item that kids would be self conscious. Depends

on the kid. Lots of kids wear glasses, but I dont think it makes a kid less

self conscious about them. It didnt for me.

My feeling from all of the posts about the ITE HAs was that those of us

using the BTE's are behind in the times. I am sure that was not your point,

but that was how I felt reading the posts. My little guy has little to no

problem with feedback. I felt like if I am not able to spend $12,000 a year

on HAs, etc. that I am somehow not giving my son the best.

Tawnya

Re: ITE Infant Hearing Aid

>

>My understanding is that the ITEs have a telicoil, making them

>compatible with a neckloop. I was surprised to hear from Jill that

>kids would be uptight about wearing a neckloop, especially since

>teens seem to have cell phone head sets and I-Pods hanging off their

>heads at all times:)

>Best,

>

>

>

>> The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so very

>much that

>> I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and

>anything

>> into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to the

>hospital on

>> several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good for

>him, not to

>> mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is a

>kid without

>> hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in

>their noses

>> either. But it is so common with little ones, and those batteries

>are so

>> dangerous to ingest.

>>

>> How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM

>system with

>> them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is no

>way the kid

>> would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would

>have been

>> too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap onto

>his aids and

>> no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on because

>he forgot

>> they were there.

>>

>> I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

>> babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi

>given about

>> safety

>> concerns? I'm very curious.

>> --- end of quote ---

>

>

>

>

>

>All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your honesty. God no, that was not at all my

intention. If I have come off that way to anyone, please accept my

apologies. Please know that I was just tying my best to answer the

questions I recieved.

> >> The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so

very

> >much that

> >> I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and

> >anything

> >> into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to

the

> >hospital on

> >> several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good

for

> >him, not to

> >> mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is

a

> >kid without

> >> hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in

> >their noses

> >> either. But it is so common with little ones, and those

batteries

> >are so

> >> dangerous to ingest.

> >>

> >> How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM

> >system with

> >> them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is

no

> >way the kid

> >> would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would

> >have been

> >> too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap

onto

> >his aids and

> >> no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on

because

> >he forgot

> >> they were there.

> >>

> >> I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

> >> babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi

> >given about

> >> safety

> >> concerns? I'm very curious.

> >> --- end of quote ---

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >All messages posted to this list are private and confidential.

Each post

> is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

> copyright restrictions.

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

No problem. I just think it is a sensitive issue, trying to decide what is

best and all.

Tawnya

Re: ITE Infant Hearing Aid

>

>Thank you for your honesty. God no, that was not at all my

>intention. If I have come off that way to anyone, please accept my

>apologies. Please know that I was just tying my best to answer the

>questions I recieved.

>

>

>

>> >> The idea of putting ITEs on a small child just concerns me so

>very

>> >much that

>> >> I feel compelled to ask questions. My nephew put everything and

>> >anything

>> >> into his mouth -- he still does and he is 3. He was rushed to

>the

>> >hospital on

>> >> several occasions because he'd ingested something not-so-good

>for

>> >him, not to

>> >> mention the number of times he choked on something. And this is

>a

>> >kid without

>> >> hearing aids. My kids never did that, never stuck anything in

>> >their noses

>> >> either. But it is so common with little ones, and those

>batteries

>> >are so

>> >> dangerous to ingest.

>> >>

>> >> How does one protect against that? Also, how does one use an FM

>> >system with

>> >> them? My son would be lost without his FM system. And there is

>no

>> >way the kid

>> >> would have worn a t-coil neckloop without an argument. It would

>> >have been

>> >> too obvious, making him look too different. The FM boots snap

>onto

>> >his aids and

>> >> no one even notices them. He often comes home with them on

>because

>> >he forgot

>> >> they were there.

>> >>

>> >> I may just be old, or old-fashioned, but the idea of ITEs plus

>> >> babies/toddlers just makes me nervous. What advice has the audi

>> >given about

>> >> safety

>> >> concerns? I'm very curious.

>> >> --- end of quote ---

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >All messages posted to this list are private and confidential.

>Each post

>> is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

>> copyright restrictions.

>> >

>> >

>> >