220 appendix a: hearing aids
What hearing aids can do
The benefits of a hearing aid depend on the kind of hearing loss a
child has.
• If a child can hear some sounds, a hearing aid will
help her hear sounds that are too soft for her to hear by
herself.
• If a child can hear faint speech
sounds, a hearing aid will
make speech louder, and may
help her hear what others say.
This can also help a child learn
to speak.
• If a child can hear some
sounds, a hearing aid may
alert him to sounds that
warn about danger.
What hearing aids cannot do
• If a child cannot hear any sounds of a certain pitch
(see Chapter 5), a hearing aid will not help him
hear those kinds of sounds.
This child cannot hear high-pitch sounds,
no matter how loud they are. A hearing aid
will not help him hear the flute.
We’d better
get home,
Yena.
What did
Papa say?!
• Hearing aids make all
sounds louder. This means
a hearing aid will not help
someone in a noisy place
hear people more clearly
than other noises.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)