If the devices work, children will wear them. They do not have any pre-conceived notions about hearing devices. Engage them socially with sound, stories and music to encourage use. Encourage vocalizations by mirroring back the sounds your baby makes, such as cooing and raspberries. Once they begin approximating or producing words, you can expand on what they are saying. For example, in response to “baba”, you could say “yes, we are getting your bottle ready.” Associating routines with songs helps babies connect sound and meaning; for example, a song you sing at every bath time. You can make these up. They begin to associate the song with the routine activity. Dancing and singing are recommended to help babies associate sound with related activities. Reading to your baby starting in infancy promotes good reading skills in the future.

Babies learn by playing with objects. The hearing devices may become objects of curiosity. You can supervise their studying the devices. You can distract them with toys and by redirecting attention. Some babies remove them when they get tired, which is to be expected. If they truly don’t want to wear them, please let your audiologist know so she or he can investigate why. Try to observe patterns to when they remove them. Sometimes they are simply cranky and tired.