Parent hearing aid experiences

Abstract

This study addresses parent experiences in obtaining and managing hearing aids for their young child. The purpose was to identify challenges parents encounter to determine what state agencies can do to improve parent access to amplification. Data were collected July through September of 2010; 40 parents of children ages birth to 3 years old returned surveys. Findings revealed a median delay of 3 months from diagnosis to hearing aid fitting. The age at first fitting was significantly longer for children who were fitted with loaner hearing aids. Parents reported that the most common challenges to obtaining hearing aids were the high cost and finding a pediatric audiologist. Results showed that parents did not have all of the necessary skills for daily management of their child's hearing aid use and that attention is needed beyond the minimal goals of when service delivery should occur to address the quality of the services being rendered.