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Will Our Daughter Become Dependent on Assistive Devices?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A concerned mother asked:

Our audiologist has said our 6- year-old daughter might benefit from using an FM receiver in the classroom since she is almost deaf in one ear. My husband and I are unsure if this is a wise course. If we introduce hearing devices early in her physical development (she is only in Grade 1), are we preventing her brain from learning to compensate for hearing loss in one ear? Will we make her dependent on a device unnecessarily, or are we sparing her from years of frustration and lost learning opportunities? Thank you so very much for your advice.

If your daughter had a bad eye, would you prevent her from wearing glasses so she could learn to live with the good eye compensating for the bad one, or would you have her wear glasses to help her see the best she can, even though she would be dependent on glasses for the rest of her life?

I think you know the answer. The same applies to ears. Let her use any and all devices that help her hear better, and thereby avoid making things unnecessarily hard for her. It is hard enough coping as it is when you only hear in one ear.

In fact, several studies have shown that children with single-sided deafness do poorer academically in the classroom than their hearing peers. Thus you want to get her all the help you can so she can perform at her real “mental” level, rather than at her lower “hearing” level.

She will have plenty of opportunities to learn how to cope with single-sided deafness in her everyday life. For example, if she sleeps with her bad ear up, she won’t hear the alarm clock, or you calling her to wake up. If she learns to sleep on her other side with her bad ear in the pillow, then she will be able to hear anytime in the night with her good ear.

When riding in the car, she should sit with her good ear towards the center of the car—not to the window. This way she will be much better able to hear what people are saying in the car. Similarly, when walking with friends, she should walk to the left of her friends (assuming her left ear is her deaf ear) so her good (right) ear is towards them. Little things like this can make all the difference in her ability to hear and understand in everyday situations.

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Hearing Loss Research & Resources

Free Visor Cards

Download your free Visor Cards for hard of hearing or deaf people here.

Loop Systems

Loop your home or meeting room. Discover how you can hear wonderfully clear sound again when listening to the TV/radio, etc, or when listening to a speaker at a meeting.

Loop systems are one of the best-kept secrets in town. To learn more about Loop Systems and what they can do for you, click here.

Take Control of Your Tinnitus—Here’s How

If your ears ring, buzz, chirp, hiss, click or roar, you know just how annoying tinnitus can be. You do not have to put up with this racket for the rest of your life. This book teaches you many things you can do to help bring your tinnitus under your control so it no longer bothers you.

Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Sounds Now Too Loud for You?

Hypersensitive to Sound front coverIf some (or all) normal sounds seem so loud they “blow the top of your head off”, or make you wince or jump, or cause you headaches or ear pain, or affect your balance, or result in fear or annoyance of sounds so you feel you have to avoid these sounds, this book is for you!

Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Hearing Phantom Sounds?

When hard of hearing people begin hearing phantom voices or music, they immediately worry they are going crazy. It never crosses their minds that they are sane and are just experiencing Musical Ear syndrome.

To learn more about the strange phantom sounds of Musical Ear syndrome and what you can do about them, click here to read a comprehensive article about Musical Ear Syndrome.

Or get the book—Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

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Center for Hearing Loss Help

Neil G. Bauman, Ph.D.

1013 Ridgeway Drive, Lynden,
WA 98264-1057 USA

Email: neil@hearinglosshelp.com

Phone: 360-778-1266 (M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM PST)

© 2025 Center for Hearing Loss Help – Help for your hearing loss, tinnitus and other ear conditions

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life [which also includes perfect hearing] through Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 6:23]

"But know this, in the last days perilous times will come" [2 Timothy 3:1]. "For there will be famines, pestilences, and [severe] earthquakes in various places" [Matthew 24:7], "distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring"—tsunamis, hurricanes—Luke 21:25, but this is good news if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for "when these things begin to happen, lift up your heads [and rejoice] because your redemption draws near" [Luke 21:28].