I have a question. My son was fitted for hearing aids and we have a loaner. Well, it whistles ALOT!. I was wondering if the newer models whistle as much. He is only 3months old and he will be getting his oticon SUMO hearing aids in about 3 weeks. any ideas about how to stop whistling Could he need new ear molds? The audiologist said we would need the frequently
Thanks for any ideas

kymomlee,

Whistling is cause by a feedback loop where sound that is supposed to go into the ear escapes and re-enters the microphone which reamplies the sound over and over again til it is reduced to a squeal.

Tighter earmolds are probably the answer. The behind the ear jobs are better at avoiding feedback because the microphone and speaker are farther apart.

Not to worry.
You say its a loaner that's whistling. Well, the mold is not an exact fit to your son's ear canal so expect that air (hence sound) will escape, causing the whistling feedback. Your son's own molds should not have this problem if he was properly fitted. When his own molds produce this feedback then you know its definitely time for a new fitting. Find out from your audiologist how often he will need to change his molds. Behind the ear hearing aids are more suitable at his age.

I definitely think it is time for new earmolds. he was fitted over a month ago and we just go them 2 days ago. The audiologist said that he will probably need them every few weeks. does anyone know much about oticon sumo hearing aids? they were ordered for Devin 2 days ago. anyone have them??
thanks

I'm glad your child's loss was detected early on, and that you're taking the proper steps to help him. Oticon is one of the oldest and largest hearing aid manufacturers in the world. They have long been one of the top choices for hearing aids for children by many pediatric audiologists. The SUMO model is fairly new, and is touted to be the most powerful (in terms of peak gain) hearing aids on the market. It is digitally programmable (can be adjusted through the computer) with an anolog (non-digital) processor. It is most appropriate for those with severe-to-profound hearing losses, and does particularly well in the low frequencies. Earmolds should not have to be replaced every couple of weeks, but for very young children every couple of months is not out of the ordinary. Feedback is a particularly challenging problem when you mix a powerful hearing aid and the tiny ears of infants. In these cases, some feedback will occur ain certain circumstances, but should not be constant. Sometimes different types and materials have to be tried before finding the right earmold, so be patient.

Hi kymomlee,

My name is Nambig. I have a 16 months old son who born with cleft lip/palate. When he was born due to te cleft lip/palate his ped. doctor requested for hearing test and he passed. We though he is not hearing problem. Recently we did ABR(audiotory brain stem) test and noticed his audioty nerver is not working meaning audioty nerve is not picking up the sound. We ar eplanning to do otoaccoustic test to check his cochlear is fine so that audiolosit said if cochlear is fine he can get cochlear implants.

From your email you babu is only 3 months old and having hearing aid. can you describe me what is the real problem with your baby? hope you can understand the parents feeling how hard it is to see our baby cannot hear.

Kindly reply.

Thanks,
Nambig
email: [removed]