Frequency compression
The unique SoundRecover feature, exclusive to Phonak, ensures the audibility of high pitched sounds, beyond what is available with conventional amplification. It plays an essential role in the development of speech and language, giving children with hearing loss a greater chance to keep up with their hearing friends. More on Frequency Compression
Sophisticated feedback cancellation
Feedback (whistling) is often a problem when fitting amplification to children, particularly for infants and very young children. Unless eliminated, it is not possible to provide sufficient volume, which can affect audibility and the child’s speech and language. A good feedback system is required to ensure optimal amplification and to remove annoying whistling.
Access to FM technology
One of the biggest challenges for hearing impaired children is hearing in noisy environments, or when there is a large distance between the child and the person speaking (such as at school or day care). Even with hearing instruments in place, noise, distance, a room’s acoustics or lack of visual contact will make it more difficult for hearing impaired children to hear. FM systems overcome such difficult listening environments as the FM transmitter picks up speech signals at the source (for example the teacher’s voice) and transmits them, clearly and without distortion, directly to the hearing instruments. Experts recommend use of FM for hearing impaired infants starting from around 9 months of age (around the family table, while riding in the car, etc.) or as soon as the family is ready. More
Hearing instruments that change with your child’s needs
These are needed in order to take into account changing needs as the child grows and the effects of a fluctuating or progressive hearing loss. From a financial point of view, it is better to fit a HI with a set of sophisticated features right from the beginning as these will need to be turned on as the child grows. With newborn hearing screening, many children with hearing impairment will be fitted with hearing instruments by 6 months of age. They will wear their “first” hearing instruments for up to at least three or four years of age. The changing communication needs as the child grows mean that features that may be originally turned off (directional microphone, noise suppression, programs selection, etc.) are essential once the child starts to attend a playgroup and is more mobile.
Tamperproof battery lock
This is an essential feature that protects your child from inadvertently swallowing the battery. Until at least 3 years of age children should wear instruments that have this feature. All pediatric Phonak BTE’s come with a tamperproof battery lock option.
Robust and durable products
Children are very dependent on their and thus it is essential that products fit to children are durable and robust. Ideally such a product is also water resistant which means that sweating (small children often sweat quite a lot around the head), accidental contact with water such as getting caught in the rain, and dirt do not impact the performance of the hearing instruments. More
