Hi Ladies,
My 4 1/2 has mild hearing loss. The audiologist that we saw today have suggested for us to look into hearing aids for both ears. Also, she also suggested for me to see if the school he will attend in September have the FM systems. Anyone familiar with this? Just wondering how it works etc. and if your child did/does use this did it really help out? Thanks...
Re: Kids with mild hearing loss
I don't have a child with this issue, but I have tutored and taught several kids with mild hearing loss.
Definitely pursue hearing aids! Even if your child does great academically, the hearing aids will be an invaluable asset for your son's social development. One child I tutored was reluctant to wear hearing aids, and her mom was too much of a pushover to force her. This kid did well in school, but she was socially immature. I tutored her in 5th and 6th grade, and she was socially closer to kids who were in early elementary grades. Granted, her social immaturity could have been due to any number of reasons other than her hearing, but I don't think it helped her to have a hard time hearing what other kids were saying in class and on the playground!
An FM system is a device where the student wears a headset during class. The teacher wears a transmitter that looks sort of like a stethoscope. It picks up the teacher's voice and transmits it directly to the student's headset. Presumably it does this using an FM radio signal, although I'm not 100% sure about the exact technology. The student I mentioned above used an FM device, and I have worn one a handful of times for students in my English classes who have had mild hearing loss. It's a great accommodation for kids with mild hearing loss in school, but it doesn't fill the same niche as hearing aids.
Hi,
Lurker here (as you can tell by my number of posts), but I wanted to share some info with you. I'm hard of hearing and a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing. In my school board the students use wireless technology for FM systems. If the child has hearing aids the receiver that they typically wear is about the size of your finger nail (literally) and is attached at the beginning of the school day. If the child does not have hearing aids, but has a mild loss or APD, they can also wear wireless receivers.
https://www.phonak.com/ca/b2c/en/products/fm/what_is_fm.html
I've included a link which provides a general description for personal FM systems. You can also see what the FM systems actually look like. This is only one of many manufacturers that produce FM systems. I have also not included information re. soundfields as that's an entirely different post (we have about 8 different soundfields in our school board to meet the students' individual needs).
Hope this info helps!
We don't have them at my school, but I've seen it when I was a sub.
I had to wear a mike for a special education class. The boy who needed it was given a little transmitter thingy that he clipped to himself (this was junior high).
I just had the mike clipped to my shirt. Both devices were very tiny and not a huge deal.