11 month old keeps pulling her aids out!

LeighAnnasMom

LeighAnnasMom

New Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
My 11 month old keeps yanking out her hearing aid when she's mad or wants attention. It's driving me nuts!!

We were using a retainer but lately she has gone beyond just pulling them out. She tries to separate it from the retainer. Recently she destroyed an earmold!! She has become really quick with it. When she is really angry she can alternate pulling one out while I pin her down to replace the other.

I have also used double side tape and Huggies. Doesn't seem like nothing works. Any tips or advice is appreciated...
 
Maybe aids hurt her ear? did you take her to audiology for checking up to make sure her inner ears are Ok or not. Sometimes hearing aids can give them some headaches or anything.
 
Def make sure the hearing aids are not hurting her and if not, I know some people get these hats with ties which also cover the ears. I don't know what they are called but someone will come along with the name of them. They say they really help with keeping the aids on.
 
We did have an ear infection in January. A check up in February showed the the infection cleared up but there was some fluid in the middle ear. Hearing tests showed improvement so the audiologist said to give it a few weeks. I guess I could get it checked again..

I kinda think she does it for a reaction rather than from discomfort. When she does it she looks right at me. When I go towards her to fix them she throws them. Some times she laughs when she pulls them out!
 
To me, I don't think your baby really understand anything and you may reconsider your focal point from just ears to whats available for a person that lost their sense of the sound since birth. If you worried about hearing more than anything else, your gonna have tough life with your child. I did exact same thing and my parents gave up and learn sign language and I thank them even more than anything for not forcing me to wear HA but learn sign language.
 
Thanks for the link. Those might work! I used Hanna Anderson bonnets when it was cooler. They worked perfectly but now that it has gotten warmer I stopped using them.
 
Thank you DieHardBiker for your response. We have chosen a total communication approach for my daughter. We all including my 4 year old have learned sign. My husband and I both have taken sign language in college (funny how things work out). My focus is not on her ears. I hope that wasn't the tone of my original post. My concern is that it is expensive equipment that I have to attach to a baby and I am concerned about it being damaged.
 
It is very unlikely that they are hurting her ears. She is being a typical toddler. All you can do is keep putting them back on, and try to distract her and keep her hands busy when doing it.

She will eventually start to recognize the benefit as she gets older, and it won't be as much as a fight.

We used the double sided tape as well which was beneficial for him.

Try not to get frustrated about it and let her see it. She will come around eventually and they'll just become a part of her.
 
I would make sure your child can't open the battery's door and take it out. You would not her to eat it.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I would make sure your child can't open the battery's door and take it out. You would not her to eat it.
Click to expand...

That is definitely a concern but I don't think she can open it and her aids have a battery lock (?) that is sometimes hard for me to remove. The reason behind my original post is the fact the she pulled her earmold apart and could have choked on it.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    16.9 KB · Views: 14
CSign said:
It is very unlikely that they are hurting her ears. She is being a typical toddler. All you can do is keep putting them back on, and try to distract her and keep her hands busy when doing it.

She will eventually start to recognize the benefit as she gets older, and it won't be as much as a fight.

We used the double sided tape as well which was beneficial for him.

Try not to get frustrated about it and let her see it. She will come around eventually and they'll just become a part of her.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the encouragement! I think I needed to hear that this is normal and to just be persistent.

I know in my head but I just want to make sure she is getting the appropriate exposure to sound. Plus we are living outside of the US right now and it will be a pain in the but if she lost them.
 
LeighAnnasMom said:
That is definitely a concern but I don't think she can open it and her aids have a battery lock (?) that is sometimes hard for me to remove. The reason behind my original post is the fact the she pulled her earmold apart and could have choked on it.
Click to expand...

oh yeah, try the ear gears, they may work for you and the little one (U can thank me later)
 
It gets your attention, she likes your reaction. Simple toddler defiance. Maybe next time, rescue them quickly, ignore her, and turn on some good (for toddlers) music. Make a point of showing her that you are enjoying the listening experience.
 
LeighAnnasMom said:
Thank you DieHardBiker for your response. We have chosen a total communication approach for my daughter. We all including my 4 year old have learned sign. My husband and I both have taken sign language in college (funny how things work out). My focus is not on her ears. I hope that wasn't the tone of my original post. My concern is that it is expensive equipment that I have to attach to a baby and I am concerned about it being damaged.
Click to expand...

Ear Gear | Hearing Aid Device | Hearing Instruments Armor | Deaf Devices -- they have a clip that attaches to clothing so it doesn't hit the floor or go missing when she removes it :)
 
LeighAnnasMom said:
That is definitely a concern but I don't think she can open it and her aids have a battery lock (?) that is sometimes hard for me to remove. The reason behind my original post is the fact the she pulled her earmold apart and could have choked on it.
Click to expand...

My earmold is on very tight, you should ask to have your daughter put on so it's not easy to pull off. My HA is child friendly , the hook can't be removed and the earmold is really stuck onto the tubing.
 
LeighAnnasMom said:
Thank you for the encouragement! I think I needed to hear that this is normal and to just be persistent.

I know in my head but I just want to make sure she is getting the appropriate exposure to sound. Plus we are living outside of the US right now and it will be a pain in the but if she lost them.
Click to expand...

Is she HOH? I seriously wouldn't panic if she's HOH. Like it sounds like most of the time, she's getting quite a lot of benifit from HAs right? And yes, I agree with everyone else.........it just sounds like her being a typical toddler....you do need to make sure she doesn't break her aids.........
 
Maybe you can form a kind of "behavior contract" with her and reward her for honoring the contract.

As an example, you could start a sticker chart.
You can do a "ear check" with her in front of the chart once or twice a day.
For each "check" where she hasn't taken off the mold, she gets a sticker on the chart.
When she collects 6 stickers (or however many stickers is appropriate for her), she can get a reward, like a special snack, a few extra minutes on the playground, a bigger sticker to put on her forehead or shirt, two bedtime books instead of one, a coloring sheet... simple little rewards.
You can play these rewards up so they sound like a big deal and valuable.

In essence, you are making keeping the HA on a kind of game.

As she gets better about the "reward" you can make the amount of time she has to wait to get a sticker longer (ear check once a day instead of a few times a day, OR require more stickers to be collected before the reward is presented).


You could also use time out, so that ear molds off does not result in her getting the attention she's aiming for. Time out has to happen immediately after the behavior, and age = minutes spent in time out. But there are many articles online explaining how to use time out effectively so I won't go into details about this.
 
Shimo, that behavioral program is too complicated for an 11 month-old to understand. Ear check-- immediate hug and sticker on the hand. :cool2:
 
NaidaUP said:
Def make sure the hearing aids are not hurting her and if not, I know some people get these hats with ties which also cover the ears. I don't know what they are called but someone will come along with the name of them. They say they really help with keeping the aids on.
Click to expand...
I'm wondering the same thing.

Babies and toddlers grow very fast. So, it's likely the earmolds became uncomfortable. Perhaps, it's what the earmolds are made of or how they're made?

Maybe, the hearing aids are being worn at the wrong time of day.

I have a deaf nephew who wore hearing aids. We didn't make him wear his hearing aids 24/7 or at all times... only when we felt it was necessary. For instance, if he's doing through auditory training... we would make him wear his hearing aids. If we went out in public where we want him to hear things, we would make him wear his hearing aids. But, if he's at home playing with his toys or just watching television... then we let him pick whether he wants them on or not.
 
Back
Top