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Hi everyone, my name is Vicki. I'm an audiologist and work for the National Deaf Children’s Society. I'd love to help you with any questions you might have to do with the ears and hearing so please leave me a message here. The topics I can help with include hearing tests, types and causes of hearing loss, hearing aids, cochlear implants, supporting children in their hearing and listening development, and transition from children's to adult's audiology services.

Hi Casdix,

Transition is more difficult for some young adults than others. Many take it in their stride where others find it much harder. Adult audiology services are very different to children's services - for example childrens services are usually a lot smaller and children get used to seeing the same people each time, and in adult services the young person is expected to take 100% responsibility for looking after hearing aids, reporting any problems, making appointments etc. In childrens services there is a high rate of young people who have other health, education or care needs, whereas the greatest proportion of people who use adult services are elderly and young people with quite complex needs are in a very small minority. Some hospitals are better than others at helping support young adults through these changes - giving them information they need to become independent service users, understanding their hearing loss, using other equipment with hearing aids that can help in socially, higher education or in work, ensuring they know where to find information if they need it. Do you feel your son is ready for transition and has been prepared for the changes? If your local adult service in at another hospital for example you could ask for a visit there before you are discharged from the children's service. And they should give you information about how to contact them, opening times etc.

Listening with hearing aids is hard work. Hearing is something we do naturally and takes no energy but listening is a skill or learned behaviour and takes effort. Therefore it's quite common for people to want a break from their hearing aids every now and again. However, the more you wear hearing aids the better our brains get used to listening with them and the easier listening with them becomes. If someone wears hearing aids just for part of the time then the brain gets mixed messages about what a normal level of sound is. So it's worth you and your audiologist trying to get to the bottom of why he doesn't wear his hearing aids at home because there are long periods of time when he's not at college such as during the holidays. Is it because of comfort that we could try and improve, is it because he finds them too noisy at home or just feels he doesn't need them there, or perhaps because he uses headphones a lot at home (music, computers, game consuls etc) and finds wearing hearing aids with them too annoying? There are lots of options that could be tried from reprogramming the hearing aids, providing different programmes for different listening situations, or using adaptations that allow easier use of hearing aids with other equipment etc.

Vicki

Hi Liz

A mild hearing loss (21-40dB) is much like wearing earplugs all day. Children will often hear one-to-one conversation in quiet surroundings but struggle in noisy situations like classrooms. Because they can't hear quieter speech they also miss overhearing a lot of information. Children also need to be able to hear conversations going on all around them, even though they aren't paying attention to it or when it may be about things that don't seem important for young children to hear. This 'overhearing' is important for building vocabulary, gives children grammar, and general knowledge. There is lots of research now that shows that children with mild hearing loss are at risk of delays in speech and language development. Even if the hearing loss itself isn't the main cause, when children have other learning or development problems then it is more likely to have an impact.

Some children with autism will not tolerate hearing aids. This can be physical and they are often the same kids that refuse to wear hats or headphones. There are also some that are very oversensitive to everyday sound (hyperacusis). But this isn't the case for all autistc children so I do think there is nothing to lose in trying, especially if language development is a key issue for a child. Hearing aids can be programmed very conservatively to ensure they remain within the childs comfort levels for sound. Hearing testing isn't always easy as many do rely on play and cooperation with the child but there are a number of different tests that can be tried or adapted and we often have to do several types and build up a picture of the child's overall hearing like a jigsaw. If your local audiologist doesn't have alot of experience working with children with autism then it is worth asking your GP to refer you to another hospital (perhaps a large specialist children's hospital where they only see children and are likely to have more experience with children with complex needs.)

Vicki

Hi Vicki My son is 8, autistic with limited verbal communication. He has had is hearing tested an apparently has no problems in that area. However I've noticed that his left ear is prone to a heavy build up of ear wax. (His dad has to have his ears syringed regularly due to wax build up) I had an injury report from school this week saying that he was bleeding from the left ear - but when I looked there was just a very heavy build up of dark wax. Would the wax build up cause problems for his hearing? Should I look in to ways of keeping the wax down? Or should i leave well alone? (my son's prefered option!)

My son (now age 16) has suffered from episodic vertigo, nausea and vomiting from an early age. After undergoing various investigations/tests our ENT Consultant has informed me that there would appear to be a problem in the saccule of the vestibular system. The ENT Consultant is recommending rehabilitation for my son. At present our local hospital (OCT Department) have told me that they are not trained in this particular area and that my son will need a specialist physiotherapist who is trained to deal with my son's particular problem. I should be very grateful for any advice on this problem and wonder if you know of any specialist vestibular therapists out there who may be able to help.