Teacher and first hearing aids

[alwood]

I teach second grade. I am getting my first set of aids. Wondered if anyone else can share the adjustment period I will have in about a week. I am a little nervous. Any suggestions?

I have mild/moderate low tone loss.

[jlgreer1]

I have been wearing aids in my classes for a couple of years. I teach secondary science. I have BTE with RIC aids. The students very seldom notice that I have them. When they do I just tell them I have bionic ears. It has never been an issue. I would assume it will be even easier with 2nd graders.

Prior to getting the aids, I had a terrible time understanding the girls and some boys that still had high pitched voices. The aids have made things much better. I was actually considering a job change before I found good HAs. I just couldn't understand the students unless I was standing right next to them. With multiple students talking at the same time, it was impossible. The aids are a major improvement.

I have forgotten them a couple of times. When that happens, I am back in the "huh, what" mode of communicating.

If you have any specific questions, please ask.

Jeff

[alwood]

Thanks, good to know. I have low tone loss. I am getting Phonak solana cic. I think they are a little better than what I need. But I am not sure how much my hearing will change. So I think they will be good. I hope my frustration and the kids will get better. I struggle with the low tone speakers. They also don't project. Even if they start out loud enough they mumble by the end. I thought a kid said today that someone was hugging the bars but they really said hogging. It was funny. :) I am really excited to see how they will help.

[rweigle]

I'm currently a college counselor but used to teach. I suggest you explain to the students about your "new" ears and there is a "learning curve" with them. I think you'll be surprised about how much you have missed over the years now you can "hear." Have you obtained the ICom with these aids? I think Kids really like new technologies. Also, at this age, kids are not as prone to bias of disabilities and this is a good experience for all of you as long as you really convey a sense of comfort with the the aids

Good luck,

[alwood]

I have told the kids. They think it is neat. We teach a sound unit and they know all about it. So it was very easy for them to understand. None of them seem to care. I did make a letter for the parents that my Pricipal was impressed with. It is just getting approved now. I like to be proactive. When the kids come home they may talk about it and the parents may be like "WHAT?". I put in there that the class could only improve with my hearing aids and it was already great.

[jlgreer1]

In addition to my poor hearing, I am legally blind. In ten years I have only had two parents that made an issue of my vision. I have a full time aid in the room as a back up. Many students and parents seek out my classes, some from my reputation, some because older brothers and sisters have had me somewhere along the line.

Jeff

[Rocket]

When a child asks me what those things are, I explain to them what they are, and why I wear them. Once they know what and why, they accept it and it's never an issue with them. I would take a moment to bring it up to the class and explain it to to them, and also ask if they know anybody else who wears hearing aids. There will be people they know who wear HA's, and that will help normalize the issue with them. Good luck!

[RoseRodent]

I think it would be worth mentioning in simple terms that you have different programs on the hearing aids and sometimes if you are talking to someone they will block out sounds coming from behind, so if someone is trying to talk to you from the side or rear you may look to be ignoring them. I found this the most difficult adjustment with my new hearing aids because if the program had gone into front "speech in noise" zoom I missed things happening behind me and kids sometimes spoke to me without me even noticing they'd said anything, so encourage them to make sure they come around the front of you and speak or tap you for attention. Probably worth mentioning where is appropriate to tap you too, as my P1 (K-grade age) kids would pat me on the backside a lot!

With second grade they probably won't join the dots that it means they can mess about behind you, but older kids would figure that straight out. You might want to prioritise your omnidirectional hearing for the classroom environment so you can hear if something is brewing behind you, and keep more frequent visual scans around the room. You may, depending on the hearing aid, have some initial trouble working out where noises are coming from, indeed I have a persistent problem with that, so cannot immediately pinpoint the source of something. You want to retain the ability to swing around and home straight in on the child who did whatever it was, so make sure you still have good sound location before you round on someone and get the wrong kid!

You might find the adjustment period demanding as a room full of noisy kids with their slamming trays and crashing chairs is just not the number 1 place to break in a new hearing aid, it's pretty full-on, but don't give up.

[alwood]

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I have a VERY well behaved class. They do such a good job for me without the hearing aids. I think they will be good when I get them. I do think I will be the one who is really overwhelmed a bit with the noise I was not used to hearing. But I will have them a few days then it will be spring break and I can get used to them for another week at home. I am excited to get them. I keep thinking about all the things I might hear better. 1 more week to find out.

[Smiley]

I am a bit jealous of you with your very well behaved class. I teach high school science/maths, with ages from 12 to 18 years. Some classes are great, others make you wonder why you took up teaching. Behaviour management is difficult with up to 150 different students I see only 2 or 3 times a week.

Like you, I have only recently purchased my first hearing aids. With the less well behaved classes, I am overwhelmed by the noises in the classroom. I have Siemens Pure 701, and have tried a few different programs, but find that the chatter, the furniture moving (no soundproofing in science labs), the fans whirring etc, make for an unpleasant environment.

So to those who are experienced with the different programs available, what would you suggest for the (noisy) classroom. I would like to be able to hear the person directly in front of me, but find that as the microphones are facing backwards (over the ear), I have difficulty focussing on the conversation directly in front of me.

Please ignore what may appear to be spelling mistakes - we spell some words differently in the land down under (Australia)
Smiley

[jlgreer1]

Hi Smiley,

I have Rexton Cobalt 12 hearing aids. Initially, I had the auto program in channel 1 and reduced noise program in channel 2. For me, the auto program is always the best solution. I have only gone back to the audiologist a couple of times since receiving these aids last November. The only adjustment needed was to increase the volume level. She did a great job with the overall balance.

I too have the good and bad classes. The science lab class that now has 33 students used to be a good one.

Jeff

PS. I understand that the Cobalt 12s are an older model Siemens marketed as their cheaper brand. They do well for me.l

[alwood]

I am very lucky with my class. I only have 20 students this year. Every year is different. I have had 2 good years in a row. I did Special ED. for 7 years so I payed my dues. :)

I am very excited to see how my aids work. I hope they are in this week. I am getting Phonak solana cic. I haven't seen many comments on them so I hope they are good.

[withears]

I am very lucky with my class. I only have 20 students this year. Every year is different. I have had 2 good years in a row. I did Special ED. for 7 years so I payed my dues. :)

I am very excited to see how my aids work. I hope they are in this week. I am getting Phonak solana cic. I haven't seen many comments on them so I hope they are good.

Please be aware that when you are not used to teaching in class with hearing aids, you may be demanding more quietness from the students than you did prior to wearing the aids. This would be because of the increased "volume" of the overall background noise. So you should make the students aware of how your hearing aids work so that they understand the increased expectation of them being more quiet than before. My classes got upset especially those that came into the labs (I taught at the college level) to use the equipment and don't know you or your hearing problems.

[alwood]

Well, I finally got them. So far so good. My hearing is a little different than a lot on the forum. Most seem to have lost high tones. Mine are the low tones. She did some good settings. I can tell the difference right away. I went to school this afternoon and it wasn't bad. My kids were so excited. One was worried the beads in her hair would bother me. It was so sweet. My only issue is they tickle in my ears. I keep getting the shivers. Other than that and chewing is loud the first day is a success. :)

[rosie]

Alwood...I came across this thread when I searched hearing aids with full sound...I too am a teacher (kindergarten) and I have a reverse slope loss as well...I just got Phonak cassias microP's...I am not in the classroom yet and I know it will be difficult...the fans and the extra chatter, etc...I am trying to get used to them as I have only had them for a few days...kind of uncomfortable earmolds, itchy and I have been taking them out after a couple of hours....just thought it was interesting that you are a teacher with a low frequency loss...do you still have your Phonaks? Rosie

[listening_gal]

Thanks for starting this topic. For the past several years, I've taught in bilingual classes, elementary. I've taken a lot of Spanish and use it quite a bit in the classroom. But I've always had difficulty understanding the parents. When I went for my hearing screening this summer (because I couldn't understand anyone around me), it finally dawned on me that my problem with Spanish was probably due to the hearing loss. However, I'm moving to technology intervention and enrichment, so will be in a completely different environment.

My aids are BTE with RIC and in the 3 weeks that I've had them, no one has noticed them. I've had to point them out to my family and friends, so perhaps the students this year won't notice them. If they do, I intend to explain that they are high tech hearing devices and everyone know that I like technology. I hope you do well with yours.

[rosie]

Your loss seems worse than mine as you have loss in your highs as well...(sorry...sigh)...anyway, I have read that accents are much more difficult to understand with a hearing loss (not sure if it's specific to low frequency loss...) it makes sense as we are reading lips and if we read the lips "in English" the sound doesn't jive if they have an accent so we don't understand! (I think???)...it's like when I am using captions on the tv and the sound is out of sync with the actors it is very difficult to understand...well, I could be wrong! Glad you are teaching a different class...good luck! Rosie

[mr love]

If necessary (if you are in the US) call for an IEP to address this. There are activities that only designated people are allowed to do when a child needs medical assistance, but I have never heard that a teacher couldn't help a child put their hearing aids back in.