anyones child wear a hearing aid? WDW show question

[Rychelle924]

I was just wondering how hearing impaired kids did in some of the louder shows there. With all of the very loud different frequency sounds going on at the same time in some of the shows, I was just curious how it affected kids with their hearing aids. My 7 year old wears one and I didnt know if it will hurt his ear at all, make the aid go nutty trying to deal with all the diff loud sounds.. thanks for any info you can give me about your expereince.

 

[buffettgirl]

well, not my child but my dh wears two and he simply couldn't wear them most of the time, anywhere. It was too loud, too confusing, too much interference.

 

[Pluto.AuD]

I'm an audiologist who studied in Orlando and have been to Disney World many times. In fact my wife has a hearing loss and we had a great time when we got engaged there.

In answer to your question, there is a maximum output level set on all digital hearing aids which is designed to keep loud sounds loud, but not uncomfortably loud. It's kind of like a ceiling that loud sounds cannot exceed. Check with your audiologist if you have concerns and they may be able to adjust this before your trip.

Also take advantage of the assistive devices Disney has to offer including captioned shows and rides and sign language interpreters as well as assitive devices in the hotels like flashing lights for alarmclocks, doorbells, and fire alarms.

 

[I Love Pluto]

My daughter turns the volume down on her hearing aids, or she removes them.

Be more careful, however, of people spraying those mist fans. They cannot see your hearing aids - and sometimes spray carelessly. One CM was horrified when my daughter's hearing aids cut out after being sprayed by him. But - they will work perfectly again in a few minutes after drying out.

 

[Rychelle924]

I'm an audiologist who studied in Orlando and have been to Disney World many times. In fact my wife has a hearing loss and we had a great time when we got engaged there.

In answer to your question, there is a maximum output level set on all digital hearing aids which is designed to keep loud sounds loud, but not uncomfortably loud. It's kind of like a ceiling that loud sounds cannot exceed. Check with your audiologist if you have concerns and they may be able to adjust this before your trip.

Also take advantage of the assistive devices Disney has to offer including captioned shows and rides and sign language interpreters as well as assitive devices in the hotels like flashing lights for alarmclocks, doorbells, and fire alarms.

thank you!!! he has the Phonak Nios V, so this should have those volume blocks like you mentioned, correct. He also has it on auto adjust not a manual vol control.. Ill def be talking to his audiologist about it too!
ohh do all hotels offer the hearing impaired alarms and such??

 

[Rychelle924]

My daughter turns the volume down on her hearing aids, or she removes them.

Be more careful, however, of people spraying those mist fans. They cannot see your hearing aids - and sometimes spray carelessly. One CM was horrified when my daughter's hearing aids cut out after being sprayed by him. But - they will work perfectly again in a few minutes after drying out.

thank you!!! I was wondering if hed have to remove it at all.. but then I worried we wont be close enough to the show that he could read lips and stuff. i didnt even think of the sprayers!!! thanks for the tip!!! ill carry his mini travel stow and dry container i guess, just in case!

 

[Talking Hands]

Neither my husband nor I will wear our hearing aids at Disney. Too much background noise that covers up speech. Fortunately I use sign language so can depend either on interpreters or various forms of captioning.

 

[Pluto.AuD]

thank you!!! he has the Phonak Nios V, so this should have those volume blocks like you mentioned, correct. He also has it on auto adjust not a manual vol control.. Ill def be talking to his audiologist about it too!
ohh do all hotels offer the hearing impaired alarms and such??

Yes, the Nios should have that. All hotels are required to provide the assistive devices I mentioned under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)...even off-property hotels.

 

[Rychelle924]

Neither my husband nor I will wear our hearing aids at Disney. Too much background noise that covers up speech. Fortunately I use sign language so can depend either on interpreters or various forms of captioning.

thank you! Im going to see if his aid can be calibrated but if not or if its still too much ill have have his case with us so he can take it out..

 

[Rychelle924]

Yes, the Nios should have that. All hotels are required to provide the assistive devices I mentioned under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)...even off-property hotels.

great! thanks so much!! and the parks have portable FM systems too as well if he needs one right? if so are they cable conection or remote like how his works with like a cell or an ipod?

 

[Pluto.AuD]

Neither my husband nor I will wear our hearing aids at Disney. Too much background noise that covers up speech. Fortunately I use sign language so can depend either on interpreters or various forms of captioning.

Absolutely take advantage of the great accommodations Disney provides. The interpreters were very nice when my wife and I were there, we learned lots of new "Disney" signs.

Children who wear hearing aids, however, should keep their hearing aids on, even if they use the captioning or interpreting services. This will help continue their language development.

 

[Rychelle924]

Absolutely take advantage of the great accommodations Disney provides. The interpreters were very nice when my wife and I were there, we learned lots of new "Disney" signs.

Children who wear hearing aids, however, should keep their hearing aids on, even if they use the captioning or interpreting services. This will help continue their language development.

not sure if it makes a difference or not (although we dont ever like him taking it out) but his language developement is perfect.. and he has unilateral loss, left ear moderate in low frequency and severe in high/ with 40% word recognition. but we still prefer he keep it in.. I love the idea of learning Disney signs!!

 

[Pluto.AuD]

great! thanks so much!! and the parks have portable FM systems too as well if he needs one right? if so are they cable conection or remote like how his works with like a cell or an ipod?

The parks do have assistive listening devices that can work with his hearing aids. I don't have personal experience with them, so I'm not sure if they are a cable connection or remote. Their website, shown below, states they have headphones or induction loops. The induction loop would be worn around the neck and work with his hearing aids in the T-Coil or telephone program. The attached receiver would pick up a signal from the listed attractions and send them to his hearing aids....hope that's clear Please feel free to post other questions or call WDW resort information at 407-824-4321.

disneyworld.disney.go.com/plain-text/hearing-disabilities/

 

[Rychelle924]

The parks do have assistive listening devices that can work with his hearing aids. I don't have personal experience with them, so I'm not sure if they are a cable connection or remote. Their website, shown below, states they have headphones or induction loops. The induction loop would be worn around the neck and work with his hearing aids in the T-Coil or telephone program. The attached receiver would pick up a signal from the listed attractions and send them to his hearing aids....hope that's clear Please feel free to post other questions or call WDW resort information at 407-824-4321.

disneyworld.disney.go.com/plain-text/hearing-disabilities/

wonderful!!! I reallt appreciate all of your help!!

 

[Sandy321]

The parks do have assistive listening devices that can work with his hearing aids. I don't have personal experience with them, so I'm not sure if they are a cable connection or remote. Their website, shown below, states they have headphones or induction loops. The induction loop would be worn around the neck and work with his hearing aids in the T-Coil or telephone program. The attached receiver would pick up a signal from the listed attractions and send them to his hearing aids....hope that's clear Please feel free to post other questions or call WDW resort information at 407-824-4321.

disneyworld.disney.go.com/plain-text/hearing-disabilities/

we havent used the assitive listening devices in quite a while - so this is old information - (btw our eldest son also is bi literal hearing loss - but dont remember the percentages - he's in his twenties now - so just continue what you're doing - and what helped our son was we read to him - read read read! It was always surprising what came up through literature! )

anyway - the device we found heavy, and it didnt keep up with the attractions -
allears.net has information also
http://allears.net/pl/handheld.htm
http://allears.net/pl/listen.htm

but we found the reflective captionings perfect! when you enter the queue and see a CM let them know you need the reflective captioning - you then are asked to wait with the handicap enters -
some of the shows have the red captioning in different places - so be aware where it is (my favorite was Its tough to be a bug - with that show its hard to read from the fog!! and you have to sit closer to the front to receive the captioning)

 

[Rychelle924]

we havent used the assitive listening devices in quite a while - so this is old information - (btw our eldest son also is bi literal hearing loss - but dont remember the percentages - he's in his twenties now - so just continue what you're doing - and what helped our son was we read to him - read read read! It was always surprising what came up through literature! )

anyway - the device we found heavy, and it didnt keep up with the attractions -
allears.net has information also
http://allears.net/pl/handheld.htm
http://allears.net/pl/listen.htm

but we found the reflective captionings perfect! when you enter the queue and see a CM let them know you need the reflective captioning - you then are asked to wait with the handicap enters -
some of the shows have the red captioning in different places - so be aware where it is (my favorite was Its tough to be a bug - with that show its hard to read from the fog!! and you have to sit closer to the front to receive the captioning)

thank you for all the great info!!! tough to be a bug is one of my all tome favs at WDW and its still going to be under refurb when we go im so sad my boys wont be able to see it!

 

[Talking Hands]

With all deference to the audiologist. It is very hot in Florida during the summer and ears do sweat and aids get uncomfortable. Sometimes it is just more comfortable to remove the aids and let the ears dry out. Do carry his cases or cases and not just take them out and put them in a pocket. I lost one of mine that way. Finished interpreting a service at church and the aid was bothering me so I took it and thought I put it in my pocket but it never made it and was lost. Always store in the case.

 

[EskiLvr]

not sure if it makes a difference or not (although we dont ever like him taking it out) but his language developement is perfect.. and he has unilateral loss, left ear moderate in low frequency and severe in high/ with 40% word recognition. but we still prefer he keep it in.. I love the idea of learning Disney signs!!

My almost 13-y/o DS has a Profound/Complete Unilateral SNL in his left ear - and recruitment (overly sensitive to sound) issues in his right ear (he tests at 5 - 10 db thresholds across the acoustic spectrum in his right ear and his left ear is dead). He wears a TransEar bone conduction hearing aid, and always wears it to the parks. If shows are getting too loud, we just disengage the battery, and then turn it back on when the sound level decreases.

Also: we use Ear Gear (www.gearforears.com) - it keeps his aid dry, protects it from misters, sudden rain storms, and sweaty child syndrome. DS prefers to use the style that clips to his shirt, since it will "catch" his BTE portion of his HA if it ever gets knocked off his ear. I like it not only for the protective aspects, but also because the Ear Gear usually catches the attention of the cast members (DS's aid is flesh colored and can't be ordered in "cool" colors). We just ordered new ones for our cruise - he picked out lime green and another in black. He'll either be a ninja, or everyone will see him coming from a mile away.

One thing you might want to look at would be a customized musician's ear plug (Westone makes a great one that we got for under $100, including the fitting by the audiologist). DS wears it in his "good" ear when we're going to see the fireworks - or he gets a massive headache from all of the sound.

Hope this helps!

 

[SueM in MN]

Some other resources -
Post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has some resources that will be helpful. Near the top of that post, there are some official WDW links. Further down in post 3, there is an alphabetic list of conditions and concerns that contains other links to helpful information, including some for guests with hearing disabilities.

You can find the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature to get there.

 

[herdtoDisney]

I'll share my experience, I wear a HA in one ear, and when I went to Disney in Feb., I chose to not wear it in the parks much. I carried my case to keep it in. I was worried about it falling out on a ride, and water and sweat and stuff, plus the backround noise. Most shows I could hear OK, since they were loud, but some of them I could not (particularly the Country Bears). I have pretty good hearing still in my other ear, though. I didn't end up using any captioning, I'm still new to hearing loss (adult onset, otosclerosis) but when we go again, I might try it. I was just so worried about losing the HA.