Even if the diagnosis "My child has a hearing impairment" is difficult to grasp at first, can be upsetting and unsettling, it is important for your child's hearing success that you provide them with the best possible support.

Doctors should be the first, but not the only point of contact when it comes to hearing loss. Immediately after the diagnosis and the informative consultation with the doctor, the first steps should therefore be taken and suitable accompanying therapy should be started to support your child.
Below you will find important tips for the optimal therapeutic support for your child in the first months and years of life!

Whether a conventional hearing aid is sufficient or a cochlear implantation is ultimately on the cards, the first route will probably lead to a specialist acoustician. As CI surgery is usually performed around the first birthday, fitting a hearing aid in advance is usually advantageous, as the residual hearing that is usually present can be optimally stimulated during the months of waiting for the operation. Many specialist institutes throughout Austria offer special care for children by so-called pediatric audiologists.

"Children should receive two things from their parents - roots and wings."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Early audiopedagogical support and interdisciplinary cooperation enable your hearing-impaired child to participate in society. The aim of early hearing support is to develop the skills of affected children and their parents. If a child is unable to communicate with their parents, siblings or grandparents, they can feel like strangers in their own family. The strengthening of communication skills, integration of hearing and holistic developmental support are the main goals of early intervention.

It is essential to involve the family, as parents are the most important partners when it comes to working together with their child. In most cases, the early hearing specialists visit the families in their home environment. They also advise and support them in choosing a kindergarten and accompany them to specific appointments.

Regular meetings where parents can exchange ideas are also offered in many places; this gives children the opportunity to play in a group with other hearing-impaired children.

The early hearing support team also works closely with medical and therapy specialists and sets common goals to ensure quality assurance in early intervention and ultimately the success of your child's development.

Here you can find institutions in your federal state that offer early hearing support!

Discover hearing

• Draw your child's attention to any sounds you hear. Try to describe them. Whether at home, in the zoo or at the playground - we are surrounded by countless noises and sounds.
• Work a lot with music, as it conveys joy and has a positive effect on hearing as well as speech development. Depending on the age group, there are a variety of materials that additionally support the development of music perception.
• If your child repeatedly refuses to wear the audio processor, the reasons for this can be easily resolved: During fitting appointments, for example, make sure that your child finds the current setting comfortable. The magnet of the audio processor may also be too strong and create an uncomfortable pressure point. The bottom line is that a properly adjusted audio processor and the right conditions will ensure that your child recognizes the benefits of the new hearing aid.

Surrounded by sounds

• Please don't "fall silent" because you think your child can't hear you. On the contrary - talk to your hearing-impaired child, perhaps even a little more than you would if they had normal hearing.
• Don't change the naturalness of your speech - whether you whisper, speak at a normal volume or sing.
• Conversely, pay attention to all sounds and linguistic utterances that your child makes. They should understand the effect of their language as a means of communication.
• Share experiences, activities, etc. with your child verbally. Don't forget to illustrate things that your child may not have heard.
• For families with a migration background: if possible, try to offer both languages - the mother tongue and the national language. Every child, even if they need a technical hearing solution, is capable of learning several languages.
• Keep a record of your child's experiences in a diary that you can refer to at any time. With pictures, drawings and even writing, your child can show their diary to someone else and use it to recount their experiences, even if their speech may still be a little behind due to their hearing impairment. Apart from that, the diary will later be a wonderful reminder of the first years of life.
• Play role-playing games with your child! Among other things, this promotes their ability to empathize with other people. He or she plays "into the world of the other person", so to speak, and sees and feels the world with different eyes.
• Expand your child's "library" and take time to read (aloud) together. You can never have too many books in the house and picture books with age-appropriate and learning-promoting content are a must from the very beginning.
• Sing in front of your child as often as you can! And don't be too surprised if your child tries to imitate you one day. This could be one of the great moments in the early years of hearing.

Necessary checks

• Check that your child's hearing system is working properly every day, as they may not be able to alert you to a defect in time.
• Have your child's hearing performance checked regularly by means of a hearing test - usually at the speech therapist appointment.
• Attend regular maintenance appointments with the pediatric hearing care professional or service team of the hearing system manufacturer.

Loving attention

• Encourage your child's creativity and self-activity so that they can experience themselves better.
• You and your child should maintain regular contact with other families or hearing-impaired people for whom hearing loss is an issue. This will open up new doors of acceptance for you.
• Never forget to give your child loving attention, especially direct physical contact. This reassures them of your love and affection.
• Don't lose heart and try to remain patient if your child hasn't yet made the progress you desire.
• Remember: your child can do just as well as a hearing child, and sometimes even better, if you give them the chance!
• Take time for yourself regularly so that you can recharge your batteries for everyday life with your family.
• Please don't compare your child with the abilities of other hearing-impaired children of the same age. Due to the different life structures, each affected child develops in their own way and at their own pace.
• Try not to treat your child differently from hearing children. Your hearing-impaired child also needs clear rules and boundaries in order to be able to perceive their own needs appropriately and feel safe in the family environment.
• And please don't forget: you have not only taken on a difficult and demanding task, but you also have a wonderful goal ahead of you: you can accompany your child on the path to hearing and thus to a normal, independent life.

"The limits of my language are the limits of my world."
Ludwig Wittgenstein

Hearing and speech are closely linked in language development. Any hearing impairment greatly reduces the ability to acquire spoken language. Children with a hearing impairment should therefore also receive speech therapy in addition to good and timely hearing care in order to lose as little time as possible in acquiring spoken language.

The most important goal of speech therapy is to enable communication so that the child can express their wishes and needs. Therapeutic work therefore includes: Awareness training, auditory training, articulation, communication strategies, (early) written language acquisition, increased support for speech development through visual material, pedagogical advice and work with parents.

In contrast to early hearing support, which supports your child through play and has a broader spectrum that also includes motor skills and other areas of development, speech therapy prepares your child precisely for the language structures. In addition, the speech therapist is also an important pivotal point in communication with experts from other relevant specialist areas, especially in the initial phase.

In the first few months of life, the speech therapy specialist regularly checks the hearing success with the new hearing aids using special hearing tests until any necessary cochlear implantation and accompanies you as parents on this decisive path.