Kids who have hearing loss, or hearing impairment, have trouble hearing or understanding some or all sounds. That’s why it's important to get your child's hearing screened at birth & checked regularly.
It’s best to catch hearing problems early, because treatment is more successful if it starts before a child is 6 months.
Hearing is checked by a hearing specialist called an Audiologist. The type of test they do depends on a patient's age, development & health. During a test, audiologists watch for a behavioral response after a patient hears a sound. Babies / toddlers may make eye movements or turn their head. Kids & adults may respond to speech with activities like choosing a picture / repeating words / raising a hand.
Firstly, not using a hearing aid on time, can cause your hearing loss to progress more rapidly. Hearing loss affects your quality of life, & everyday activities.
Based on the signal processing, there are 3 types of Hearing aids: Analog, Trimmer Digital, & Digital Programmable. Digital Programmable hearing aid is considered the best among these three. It has a tiny chip which acts like a computer. It minimizes the impact if the sound is too loud & enhances the volume & vice-versa. Generally, humans hear in the range of 20Hz to 20KHz. Now, suppose you hear 250Hz at 40dB & 6KHz at 80dB. So, these are two different frequencies, which need two different kinds of Gain/Amplification. This is possible only with Digital Programmable hearing aid. Let’s say, the explosion of firecrackers hurts your ears, but at the same time, you cannot hear anything said in a whisper. In this case, a Digital Programmable hearing aid can enhance the soft whisper to let you hear what is being said. And when a firecracker explodes, it can reduce that sound in your ear. A digital hearing aid is an effective device, as even if hearing ability increases, you can continue to use. With re-programming, it can last you for 5-7 years.