Since the introduction of the wearable hearing aid in the mid 20th. century,
there has been a drive to make the instrument smaller, less cumbersome and more
discrete. When the main part of the aid was worn either in a pocket or attached
to the wearer’s clothing by a clip, the colour was often grey or silver to
blend in with a man’s business suit or beige or skin-toned for wear under a
lady’s dress. The most visible part of the hearing aid, the receiver button in
the ear itself, was invariably skin-toned. In the 1970s, when post aural or behind the ear hearing aids became more
common, they were produced almost exclusively in beige. Now that they, along
with "in the ear" aids, are the preferred type of aid for the vast
majority of wearers, commercially available aids and the current NHS range of
BTE aids include models available in brown and grey so that they are less
visible against darker skin or through grey hair. As children constitute quite a small percentage of hearing aid wearers, their
specific requirements have not been considered until very recently. Only in the
last 10 years have we seen the introduction in the UK of miniature BTEs more
suited to the smaller ears of babies and young children and the advances in
digital technology have now ensured that "in the ear" and "in the
canal" aids will become more available for the older child for whom the
only constraint is the size of the ear itself. If the advertising is to believed, these aids have become increasingly
popular with hearing impaired children but there seems to be no research into
why this should be the case. None of the major hearing aid manufacturers has any
written information to show whether bright coloured aids contribute to or help
to dispel the effect of stigma and searches of medical, educational and
associated journals have uncovered no references to coloured hearing aids at
all. Are they seen as a fashion statement or as a further indicator of the
"differentness" of the child (Goffman
1963)? Only the most recent literature (Green
1999) mentions coloured hearing aids and it would appear that many children
enjoy them, even having matching coloured hearing aids and earmoulds. Parents, on the other hand, are more cautious. Some are happy with the bright
colours while there is still a desire in many others to hide the aids much as
possible. The aim of the current study is to gather the views of hearing impaired
children and their parents to these aids and to gain an insight into some of the
criteria used by them when opting for or against the use of coloured aids. It is
hoped also to discover whether views change with the child’s educational
setting, either mainstream school or hearing impaired unit; whether boys or
girls are more attracted to coloured aids; if age is a factor or the position of
the child in the family. 
Recently,
following a trend started in the USA in the late 1980s, hearing aid
manufacturers have been producing ranges of aids in bright, bold colours or with
cases made of tinted transparent plastic so that the workings of the aid are
visible.
|
