Educate your grandchildren on hearing loss with these talking points.
If you’re a grandparent with hearing loss, you may have experienced challenges connecting and communicating with the little ones in your life. You may have even asked yourself, “how do I explain my hearing loss in ways they’d understand?” or “how can I better communicate with them?” In this post, we’ll cover a few helpful tips on how to talk to your grandchildren about hearing loss if you’re comfortable doing so, including:
- Encourage questions
- Keep it simple
- Have a show-and-tell with hearing devices
- Keep background noises at bay
- Share kid-friendly hearing loss prevention tips
Learn more about each of these tips for talking to grandkids about hearing loss below.
Encourage questions
Little minds have a lot of questions, and each can be used as teaching moments. One of the best ways to teach and explore hearing loss with your grandchild is to encourage questions. Perhaps they want to know about the device you put in your ear or why you prefer to have the TV volume a little higher than usual. Keeping the door of communication will allow you to address anything on their mind.
Keep it simple
If your grandchildren are curious about your hearing loss and you’re comfortable sharing, you might acknowledge that sometimes you don’t hear as well as you would like. You could also explain the methods you use that make it easier for you to hear them, such as wearing a hearing aid, using a captioned telephone, or having them turn toward you so that you can see their moving lips and facial expressions.
Have a show-and-tell with hearing devices
Take advantage of their curiosity and love of play through show-and-tell teaching moments. If you use hearing aids, explain to your grandkids that they’re not a toy. You can show them what the little devices in your ears do and what the experience is like for you using a game.
First, ask your little ones to place their hands tightly over their ears, and then say their name softly. Ask, “Can you hear me?” This exercise can help them understand your experience without hearing aids. Now ask them to remove their hands from their ears and say their name again. Ask, “Can you hear me better now?” This part of the exercise can illustrate how hearing aids help you hear better.
Keep background noises at bay
Background noises and distractions can make it difficult for people with hearing loss to participate in and understand the conversations around them. When talking to your grandkids about hearing loss, consider explaining the effect background noises have on your hearing. Let them know that quieter environments help you hear them better, and you don’t want to miss a word. You can even share these communication tips if it feels right.
Share kid-friendly hearing loss prevention tips
As you talk to your grandchildren about hearing loss, show them how they can protect their hearing from the damaging effects of loud sounds. Kid-friendly tips such as lowering the volume, moving away from loud noises, and wearing hearing protection like earplugs and earmuffs in noisy environments can plant the seed for a future of healthy hearing.
These tips can help you talk to your grandchildren about hearing loss so that they can appreciate the challenges and enhance their sensitivity to others. For more helpful advice and tips for your hearing health, continue to our hearing loss blog.
To learn how a CapTel captioned telephone can make it easier to connect with family and friends over the phone, visit CapTel.com or call 800.233.9130 today.
