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Why donors must do more than doling out hearing aids
A student at the Kitui School for the Deaf is fitted with a hearing aid donated by the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Beneficiaries need training to use and take care of the delicate gadgets. Photo/LIZ MUTHONI
Posted Wednesday, October 21 2009 at 00:00
The technology is not here yet a but in developed countries loop systems are installed in churches, schools, airports and auditoriums and hearing aids users immediately switch on their telecoil when they enter the facilities.
ITE aids should not be fitted to children because the casings will have to be replaced as often as the ear grows.
Canal hearing aids fit into the ear canal and are available in two styles.
In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aid is made to fit the shape and size of the ear canal while a completely-in-canal (CIC) is partially hidden in the ear canal. Both types of canal hearing aids are used for mild to moderately severe hearing loss.
The selection of a hearing aid should be guided by the severity of one’s hearing loss and the ambience and environment in which it will be used.
Price, too, is a key determinant on the quality and the effectiveness of a hearing aid.
A functional basic hearing aid will cost at least Sh8,000 but a state-of-the-art gadget can be upwards of hundreds of thousands of shillings, not counting the cost of maintenance.
Remember. Hearing aids are not a cure for deafness and only work where one has residual hearing.
Profoundly deaf people will not benefit from a hearing aid however technologically advanced it is.
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