A Parent's Guide to Hearing Loss

If you are like most parents, after learning of your child’s hearing loss you will have mixed feelings and many questions.
You may ask:

• “At what age should I teach my child language?”
• “Is my child old enough for a hearing aid, a cochlear implant, or other assistive device?”
• “How do I communicate with my child now?”
• “Where do I go for answers?”

This website will give you information about programs and services to help you and your child. These are sometimes called interventions, and might include:

• Meeting with a professional (or team) who is trained to work with children who have hearing loss, and their families.
• Fitting a baby with a hearing device, such as a hearing aid.
• Joining family support groups.
• Other services available to children with hearing loss and their families.

Your Family’s Choice

There are many interventions to consider. Which one (or ones) you choose will guide determine how your family and child communicate, and will enable you to help your child grow and develop to be his or her best.

We believe that the decision-making process belongs to each individual family. This website does not favor any one intervention strategy. Instead we are providing you balanced information on all interventions so that you and your family can make the decision that is right for you and your child.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the many families, professionals, organizations, and others who have contributed to this project.

Partial funding was provided by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Department of Education.