USER INSTRUCTIONS WIDEX HEARING AID CARE KIT

USER INSTRUCTIONS WIDEX HEARING AID CARE KIT

Now that your child has been fitted with hearing aids, it is important to keep the instruments clean and well-functioning, The Care Kit is a collection of items which will help you and your child to take good care of the hearing aids to ensure opti mum hearing aid performance. Following is a list of the Care Kit items and instructions for their use. Air blower Use the air blower to blow moisture out of the earmold after cleaning or after daily use. Battery tester We recommend that you test the bat teries in your child s hearing aids ev ery morning to make sure that there is plenty of power left for the day. The red light indicates that the battery is still good. Battery disposal box Fold open the box and use it for stor ing used batteries until they can be safely disposed of. 2

Cleaning cloth Use the soft cloth daily to gently clean the hearing aid (not the ear mold) after daily use. To clean the earmold, please refer to the user s in structions you received with the hearing aid. Cleaning brush Use the cleaning brush to gently clean around all openings in the hearing aid after daily use. Drying kit for hearing aids Please refer to the separate Drying Kit instructions included in the Care Kit. Listening Set As the parent of a hearing impaired child it is important for you to understand your child s reactions to his or her hearing aids - especially if your child indicates that something is wrong. While older children may be able to explain a problem in words, younger children may react to malfunctioning hearing aids by refusing to wear them, crying, or by reacting to sounds in an unusual way such as seeming confused or startled. The Listening Set allows you to listen to your child s hearing aids to make sure that they are functioning prop erly. 3

The Listening Set comes with two dif ferent tubes. In the tubes are placed filters which reduce the volume so you can listen to the amplified sound from the hearing aid without damag ing your own hearing. The red tube has two filters (see fig. 1 p. 8) which reduce the volume by an average of 30 db so you can safely listen to pow erful hearing aids. The clear tube has one filter which reduces the volume by an average of 15 db so you can hear the sound from less powerful hearing aids. 4

Procedure: 1. Start by making sure that you are in a quiet listening environment. 2. If the instruments your child uses are powerful aids such as 19 or FS (HP, M): Make sure that the red tube with two filters is connected to the Lis tening Set (fig. 1 p. 8). Then connect the hearing aid to the tube as shown in fig. 2. The plastic tube fits over the end of the hearing aid ear hook. The fit can be very tight, especially the first time. Place the Listening Set ends into your ears and turn the hearing aid on. If this tube reduces the volume too much (if you cannot hear your own voice through the hearing aid) change to the clear tube with one filter as described below. If the instruments your child uses are of moderate power such as m, 9, 19, PA or FS (M): Remove the red tube from the Lis tening Set by snapping off the plastic connector. Snap the plastic connector of the clear tube with one filter onto the Listening Set (figs. 3 and 4). You may need to press hard to snap the connector into place. 5

Then connect the hearing aid to the tube as shown in fig. 2. The plastic tube fits over the end of the hearing aid ear hook. The fit can be very tight, especially the first time. Place the listening set ends into your ears and turn the hearing aid on. If this tube reduces the volume too much (if you cannot hear your own voice through the hearing aid), cut off the bottom 3 cm. (1¼ inches) of the tube containing the filter as shown in fig. 5. Connect the hearing aid to the tube and you can listen to the hearing aid without a volume-reducing filter. 3. Switch the hearing aid on and off, adjust the volume control (if any) and switch between M, MT and T positions. Listen for any noise that might indicate that the switches are not working prop erly. When the hearing aid is in the T position, you cannot hear your own voice through the hear ing aid, but you may hear a hum ming sound which is normal. 4. Listen to your own voice while saying eeee and uuuu. Listen for interruptions, crackling noises etc. Note that even if the hearing aid is functioning according to specifications, your own voice will not sound completely normal to you after being processed through a hearing instrument. 6

We recommend that you perform this listening test once a week, as well as when your child indicates that something is wrong with the hearing aid, or when the hearing aid has been dropped on the floor, has been wet, or may otherwise have been damaged. 7

Fig. 1. Listening Set with the red tube connected. The arrows indicate the filters. 8

Fig. 2. Connect the hearing aid to the plastic tube as shown. Fig. 3. Exchange the tube as shown. Snap off the red tube and snap on the clear tube. 9

Fig. 4. Listening Set with the clear tube connected. Make sure that the filter is located at the end of the tube furthest away from the Listening Set. 10

Fig. 5. If necessary, cut the filter off the clear tube as shown. 11

CIB37/0412 Printed by HTO / 2012-04 9 514 0131 001I #01v 9 514 0232 041 #01