training audiology teams for developing countries

Audiology Work Teams

Making a differenceMethods & Considerations

Why go?To fit and provide hearing aids. Most deaf

children who live in developing countries do not have hearing aids.

To train parent and children in the use of aids. If a hearing aid is provided without training in its use and maintenance, the chances are good that within a month, the child will not be using it.

Parents likewise need education, not only about hearing aids, but about their child’s hearing loss in particular.

Training the Recipients, Purpose:

Helps protect the investment of the

team’s time, effort, and money.

Helps assure that your help will make a long term difference in

the lives of deaf children

Gives the recipients the means to get the most use out of their hearing aids.

What do parents and deaf children need to know that

audiologists and other workers in the hearing industry can tell them?

Training: fit and adjustments

Learning To Use aHearing Aid

Putting it on & taking it off

Turning it on and off

Adjusting the sound level

Dealing with feedback

Taking time to get used to the aid before wearing it all day long.

Training:Clean & dry

Tropical weather issues for hearing aids:

Molds

Fungi

Rainy weather

Users must learn how to keep a hearing aid clean & dry!

Training: repair & replaceMaintenance When to replace

earmolds and tubes

Checking & replacing the batteries

Training: Avoiding loss

Keeping the aids safe from:

Rats & mice

Keep in a container to make it harder to carry off.

Thieves

Keep in a secure place out of sight when not wearing.

Training:• Understanding about hearing

aids and audiograms

Do hearing aids make my child hearing?

What does my child’s audiogram mean?

• Mild• Moderate• Severe• Profound

Realistic expectations

A few more issues to consider

Prevent their saleKeep a database of names & serial numbers.

Have your in-country hosts ask the cooperation of local audiologists to be on the lookout for those numbers.

Inform parents they will not receive a replacement aid in future programs unless they turn in the non-functioning one, and that the serial numbers are recorded.

Require accountability for any aids left with school employees to make sure they are not sold.

BatteriesNeed to be affordable and always available

If batteries are out of reach financially (usually true for third world deaf children), consider a token charge (price) for each battery, and require old batteries to be traded in. The school office is the logical place for this to happen.

Consider using rechargeable batteries, once the students learn not to lose them, with the charging station at the school.

Batteries, continued

Consider charging a normal price for batteries of students who are finishing school, so they will be accustomed to the cost, and may continue to use their aids when they leave school.

If teachers are expected to check batteries, then they should be provided with a basic battery tester for their classrooms and taught how to use them.