Fixing a big problem for little ears.
Jane Hankins, Melody Rodriguez, Teresa Sandoval, Haleigh Salvage, Esther Garcia de la Cadena, Deanna Fierro, Crystal Smith, John Thomas, Marie Orechoff, Olivia Hart, Melissa McGehee, Carolina Hernandez, Laura Celic, Julia Ochoa, Alicia Steph, Victoria Castellon, Melissa Wolny
ABSTRACT
Hearing loss affects approximately 1.7% of children in the United States. Many of these children will be fitted with hearing aids. For a variety of reasons, the vast majority of these hearing aids will be behind-the-ear (BTE) style. When these children also wear glasses or sunglasses, this creates a big problem for little ears. Switch-EAR-roos are designed to turn this problem on its ear by placing the hearing aid in a sling and changing its position from behind the ear to under the ear, thus relieving the overcrowding problem.
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
Our student, Austin, wore BTE hearing aids along with glasses. When he’s sitting still in class, his hearing aids have a tendency to slip off and flop around a little. Because he’s a typical active kindergarten boy, when he’s out on the playground, his hearing aids slip off his ears and flop around A LOT. To prevent loss, Austin’s parents took the precaution of attaching clips to his hearing aids. These clips attach a cord from the hearing aid to the back of the child’s shirt, so if they become dislodged from the child’s ear, they are not lost. But one day Austin arrived home from school with no hearing aid. The clip was attached to his shirt on one end, on the other end was attached to the tube and the ear mold. The $3000 hearing aid was nowhere to be found. More than 50 people spent countless hours searching classrooms, buses, play areas and trash bins over the next few days for the tiny, expensive apparatus with no luck. Fortunately it was still under warranty, but Austin’s parents begged us to come up with a better alternative.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Behind-the-ear (BTE )hearing aids are the number one choice for children. Their larger size means they are less of a choking hazard than the smaller in-the-ear models. It also makes them easier to find when they are removed from the ear, and a special tether can be attached so they are less likely to be lost, although this is obviously not fool-proof.
Photo of boy with hearing aids and glasses (http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Best-Pediatric-Hearing-Aid-Accessories)
But often when children wear BTE hearing aids and glasses together, there just isn’t enough room. The hearing aids keep flopping off, the temples of the glasses rub across the sensitive hearing aid microphone making a loud, awful scraping sound, or the tiny tops of those ears become red and sore, and then you play heck trying to get the child to wear either the glasses or the hearing aids again.
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
We looked at the hearing aid accessories that were currently on the market, especially those targeted toward children.
Hearing aid cover
Hearing aid covers—sleeves that slip over hearing aids to protect them from moisture, sweat, dust, dirt, and wind noise. These are bulky and could actually exacerbate the problem.
Hearing aid cover
Cords and clips—attach the hearing aid to the child’s clothing, preventing loss if the hearing aid is dislodged. While these protect from loss, they don’t help the overcrowding problem.
Hearing aid safety cord
Rubber or silicon O-rings—attach the hearing aid to the eyeglasses. These keep the glasses and the hearing aids together, but as a result the glasses end up perched at an awkward angle above the hearing aid or scrape across the microphone.
Our solution was to flip the hearing aid upside down and suspend it under the ear in a sling. A covering was made of a spandex and nylon material to enclose and support the hearing aid, and a cord secured it to the temple of the glasses, behind the ear. A button or bead on the cord would allow it to be tightened or loosened by sliding it up or down.
Switch-EAR-roo
Cost & Components
.11 Nylon/Spandex Fabric & Thread
.10 Silicone Bracelet
1.50 Button
1.72 Total Cost Each
Fabric, needle & thread, silicone bracelet, & button
BTE hearing aids come in a variety of sizes. We chose the nylon/spandex blend of fabric because of its ability to stretch and for its acoustic transparency. Once we had the basic concept of the mechanics, we turned to design.
Austin really likes monkeys so we found the monkey button to use as a sliding closure, while the crescent shape of the sling suggested a banana. Austin and his parents gave their approval of the design.
EVALUATION
Austin’s hearing was tested using play audiometry by the school audiometrist in the sound booth both with the Switch-EAR-roo covers and without. His scores were consistent.
Austin reports no problems with his Switch-EAR-roos. He is happy with the monkey and banana design and says he hears fine.
Austin’s parents are satisfied with the results. They like that the fabric sling also helps prevent Austin from opening the battery compartment on the hearing aid, which had been a concern.
We had some requests from other parents regarding Switch-EAR-roos, but found a problem with the angle of the tubing when we switched the hearing aid from behind the ear to under the ear. The change caused the tube to pinch, which could lead to a degradation of the signal. We consulted with an educational audiologist, who told us that an earmold with CFA (continuous flow adapter) tubing could resolve that issue.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Children aren’t the only ones who have problems with hearing aids and glasses. Many adults find the combination to be a problem as well. There are 8.4 million people in the U.S who wear hearing aids (loopseattle.org/faq/). Though many adults wear the in-the canal (ITC) style hearing aids which eliminate this problem, BTE hearing aids still make up about 80% of the market. In addition, most of these hearing aid users wear sunglasses, even if they don’t use prescription eyewear. Switch-EAR-roos could easily be made in multiple styles including more adult variations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to Deborah Homan Still, Educational Audiologist, Monterey County Office of Education; and to Dr. Maura Martindale, Department Chair, Special Education and Deaf and Hard of Hearing, California Lutheran University for her continued support, dedication and encouragement.