How can family and friends help?
The diagnosis of childhood hearing impairment can affect the whole family.
Parents may experience grief, shock, anger or confusion when they are confronted with a host of unfamiliar issues and decisions about hearing aids and education. In fact, most families experience all of these emotions in varying degrees at different times throughout their child's life. To help, recognise that your friend or relation may sometimes find the going tough, even if their child seems to be doing well.
- Support your friend or relation in their choices for their child. For example, encourage the wearing of hearing aids if the child comes to stay with you. If it is offered, take the opportunity to learn more about the hearing loss and what it means for the child and their family. How much can the child hear? Does your friend or relation have therapy to do with the child at home? Perhaps their hearing centre or school is running an information seminar that you can attend. Australian Hearing produces material on a range of topics which we are happy to provide to family and friends. Please understand that we can't provide information about a particular child without the parents' consent.
- Find out the best way to communicate with the child. How far away can they hear you? Should you get their attention before you talk to them? Should you simplify your language at all? Should you turn down
background noise like the TV or radio when you want to talk to the child? Does the child also use sign language? If you can't get to formal classes, perhaps there are some simple signs you can learn from their family.
- The child or young person may value your support at an appointment at the hearing centre, or they may prefer to attend alone to discuss personal concerns with their audiologist.
- Audiology appointments can be difficult for parents if they have to bring other children along as well. Little brothers or sisters can be very distracting during a hearing test!) It can also be difficult for parents to remember everything discussed during the appointment if they are trying to keep an eye on several children at once. You could therefore offer to baby-sit young siblings. Or maybe it would help if you could look after the hearing impaired child in the waiting room to give your friend a chance to talk in more depth to the audiologist. And of course, baby-sitting at other times could give the parents much needed time out to do something for themselves.
So remember, there are many things that family and friends can do to make life easier for the hearing impaired child and their family. All of them contribute in some small way to helping to reduce the impact of hearing loss on everyday life.
