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Some fellow parents and I have put together a Wish List for Audiologists. If you
feel there is something more we need to add, please pass it along to me.
sherryzee@comcast.net
We Wish For Choices:
- Choices in communication options.
- Choices in amplification options, and associated products that will be helpful.
- Let us, the parents, make the final decision. Provide us with the information we
need to make a well informed decision, but allow us to make it. Don't assume we want
the cheapest, most preferred, easiest, most readily available, nor the smallest hearing
aid available. Allow us to make these choices.
- Respect the choices the families make.
We wish for Information:
- We wish audiologists would be more forthcoming with information. Most of the time
our audiologists will not tell us anything unless we mention it first. This makes us
wonder how much information gets to parents who really need it.
- Give us books, pamphlets, phone numbers, support groups, anything that will be helpful
to us in understanding our child's hearing loss and where to find help.
- Tell us of funding options, or lack thereof if that is the case.
- Give us information and support regarding aural habilitation. Tell us what can be done
to help our children learn to make the most of their residual hearing.
- Tell us of earmold modifications that can be made to assist the child in getting the
most from their hearing aid and residual hearing.
- Tell us about devices to help keep hearing aids on our infants and toddlers and out of
their mouths, the neighbor kids' mouths, and the dog's mouth.
- Tell us about new technology and what it can or can not do for our children. We
want to try the new hearing aids that are coming out. We want to try the new
wireless FM systems. If any of these give our child more gain in just one frequency,
we want to know.
- Tell us that the manufacturer's will allow more than 30 days to try out an aide.
Tell us that they have reconditioned aids at lower cost available. Tell us when
manufacturer's have extended warranties available.
Additional Wishes:
- Help our kids learn how to test in a sound booth. Teach us how to teach our child
to listen and respond. Help us help you get those much needed, complete audiograms
done.
- We wish that if you do not have experience in working with kids, or if you don't get
along well with kids, that you refer us to someone who does. If you aren't as
knowledgeable about fitting technology with children, refer us to someone who is. If
you aren't able to fit the newer technology, refer us to someone who does know.
Please put egos aside and do what is right for our children and us.
- Listen to the child and the parent. If a child tells you that something is not
working, don't assume the child is too young to know and ignore them. When a parent
tells you there is a problem don't dismiss their concerns. Whether it be a concern
about amplification, or a concern about their child, these are important to parents.
- Try to cut down on the amount of time a child needs to wait for an appointment.
Waiting two weeks for one when a child can not hear due to something an audiologist can
take care of in a few minutes is not fair to the child who is learning to use their
hearing.
- Tell us about loaner aids. Don't wait for us to ask. We may not know they
are available. If a child has to wait two or more weeks for an aide to be repaired,
it is again time lost that a child who is hearing impaired can't make up.
- We wish that audiologists would be helpful with acoustic issues for children in
mainstream education. That is, could you write down your recommendations concerning
acoustic environments, equipment needed, and why these are important for our hearing
impaired children in classroom settings.
- If you do not recommend something could you say, "I do not recommend this
because....", rather than saying, "It won't work". This is especially
true for children who are trying to use an FM system with their cochlear implant.
- We would like to see all audiologists get up to date on the latest technology for
testing and fitting children. Not just the latest technology for selling hearing
aids.
- We ask that you be patient and willing to test children with as many different types of
aids, and equipment until the best possible results are achieved.
- We ask that all of you get together to design a policy and procedure standard for our
kids that is NATIONWIDE. Every office you visit is so different. Can't a
guideline be established for testing, fitting, and monitoring children with hearing loss,
so that no matter where we live the services will be the same?
Well, that's it for now. We realize that there are some very good audiologists
out there, but as a group of parents we have known more heartache, headache, and
pocketbook drain than any of you could imagine. It is our intent with a simple list
like this to improve communication between you, the audiologist, and us the families.
The small but mighty PEPTIC family.
I have been gathering information on some of the issues above that we
touched upon, and I have found some encouraging news, not only for parents, but for
audiologists as well! Wishes do come true!
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