The videos below were created by pediatric hearing care professionals to show how they use the different environments in the My World tool to talk with children about their hearing loss.
You can use these videos to learn how to introduce the tool in the appointment and how to work with each of the three environments. You can also see how the hearing care professionals use the tool to help the children explore alternative communication strategies in specific situations.
If you would like to contribute a video to the website showing how you or a colleague work with the My World tool in the clinic, please contact us.
Amber recently attended a full hearing aid review appointment and underwent full audiometric testing, hearing aid fine tuning and aided assessment. This has addressed her audiological needs quite effectively, says Richard, Amber's hearing care professional.
In pediatric appointments, Richard often experiences that the parents share information based on their experiences and observations of aided performance at home, in social situations, and on professional reports from teachers at school and teachers of the deaf.
Richard felt that using the My World Tool helped shift the focus back onto Amber and gave her a free forum with which she could express how she coped in the school environment.
As you watch the video, consider the following questions:
Ashlynn was 9 years old when she was filmed using the My World Tool. She has a bilateral, moderately-severe, sensorineural hearing loss that was not diagnosed until she was 4 years of age.
Her hearing care professional, Eileen Rall, used the My World tool to facilitate a discussion of her relationship with her younger sister. Her younger sister was diagnosed with hearing loss and there was a need to explore their relationship and how Ashlynn could support her sister's use of technology.
Through their discussions, Eileen learned a lot about how Ashlynn handles relationships. This has opened up the opportunity for them to explore how her impaired communication skills impacts her relationships. It also allowed her to discuss how Ashlynn can support her sister and family in using more effective communication strategies.
As you watch the video, consider the following questions:
- What does Eileen learn about the way Ashlynn is currently approaching the communication difficulties she experiences with her friends?
- How does Eileen use the My World tool to help Ashlynn think of alternative ways to handle these difficulties?
Chloe has been using hearing aids effectively for the last five years. She has regular contact with her Teacher of the Deaf in school and is a 'model' hearing aid and FM user.
As she is managing so well at school, Chloe's hearing care professional, Richard, decided to explore her home environment using the My World tool. In the past, Chloe has been fairly shy in the clinic and has not expressed any difficulty at home or in social situations.
The session with the tool not only revealed the difficulties she experiences with communication at home, but also enabled Chloe's parents to realize how many situations, which are often taken for granted, pose real communication difficulties for her.
Richard feels that the session helped Chloe's parents gain a better understanding of her difficulties but also aided him in being able to tailor her hearing aid management and counseling appropriately.
As you watch the video, consider the following questions:
- Using the My World tool, what does Richard learn about Chloe's ability to hear different children's TV shows?
- How does the session enable Chloe to describe her hearing situation at home with her parents?
- How did the session help Chloe's parents learn how they can better support Chloe in the management of her hearing loss at home?