Supporting parents in improving their child’s hearing device use time
Reviewed by Nathan Barlow

On the topic of supporting parents with improving their child’s hearing device time, The Hearing Journal recommends sharing a video from Hearing First (video provided online by Hear Jour; produced by www.hearingfirst.org) and provides a unique printable resource for parents and families of children with hearing devices. Overall, concepts such as ‘10+ hours a day’ or ‘Eyes open, Ears on’  are discussed and supported, along with introductory parental counselling concepts, which themselves follow a well-accepted auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) technique. The largest benefit of this printable resource is that it connects auditory neuroplasticity concepts (that are well-known to audiologists and professionals in hearing loss) to family-friendly statements and concepts, using informal and easily accessible language, as well as reassuring parents on many common themes. These explanations reference and use knowledge from a large longitudinal study (the OCHL study) on language outcomes for children with mild to severe hearing losses. This allows a clinician total confidence that the concepts they are introducing to their clients are based on peer-reviewed, scientifically-accepted knowledge and concepts. This printable resource within the September issue of The Hearing Journal is one to be aware of for any professionals working within paediatric spaces. The largest take-home message from this resource is the concept of “Your child’s hearing devices are [their] brain access devices”, which is then further explained scientifically and presented using a person-centric format in the resource. A highly recommended resource for any paediatric clinician.

How Often Should My Child Wear Hearing Devices?
HEAR J
2024;77(9):6.