Kaitlin has started 8th grade at a middle school. In her school district, this is a different school from where she attended grade 7.  Her mother has learned that Kaitlin has not worn her hearing aids at all since the start of the school year, and her grades are suffering as a result.  Her mother brings Kaitlin in for audiologic re-evaluation and hearing aid check to ensure that the hearing aids are functioning, as Kaitlin gives vague reasons for not wearing the hearing aids, such as not needing them, and the aids not helping her.

The hearing is stable; the hearing aids are appropriate for the loss.  The are cosmetically appropriate, and hardly visible given Kaitlin’s hairstyle.

What are common reasons for children of this age rejecting hearing aids? What kinds of questions or statements might you use to elicit from Kaitlin her real objections?