When I was five years old, my winter jacket had a pair of discreet retractable straps inside the sleeves with clips on the end that latched onto my mittens. I have no doubt that without the clips I would have spent many an unpleasant hour rummaging through the lost-and-found box looking for my misplaced mitts. Now a new company in Canada is applying the same principal to hearing aids, with a line of colorful, kid- and adult-friendly protectors for behind-the-ear hearing aids. Ear Gear is the brainchild of Mark Rosal, whose very young daughter Shameera nearly lost a pair of expensive hearing aids on a visit to her grandmother’s house. Grandma finally discovered the hearing aids three weeks later in the the bottom of a treasure box Shameera had hidden during a game of pirates. Expensive treasure indeed! Mark decided enough was enough. After experimenting with a variety of materials, he came up with a Spandex-based, slip-on hearing aid protector that shields the aid from the elements and comes with an optional attached cord and clip that can be secured to a child’s clothing. If the child yanks out a hearing aid in the midst of a game, it will hang safely from the cord rather than be lost.
Ear Gear products are reasonably priced, starting at $21.95 USD, and come in a variety of bright colors and sizes. They are a great example of the refreshing recent efforts of product developers to make a fashion statement with hearing aids and accessories rather than coloring them in ugly flesh tones in an inevitably unsuccessful effort to make them disappear. And although Ear Gear is only a few months old, it has scored a marketing coup with distribution agreements with Westone and Hal-Hen, two leading outlets for hearing-aid accessories, and hearing-aid manufacturer Magnatone. A few weeks ago I wrote about the very popular line of Hearing Aid Sweat Bands from Van-B Enterprises. They are a bit less flashy but do a very good job of protecting behind-the-ear hearing aids from the elements. The Ear Gear products offer similar protection and have the added benefit of the clip-on strap. The Ear Gear design is different and more secure because it slips on over the tube connecting the hearing aid to the earmold, making it difficult for a child to slip them off inadvertently. It is a little more difficult to install than the Hearing Aid Sweat Band, which slips over the end of the hearing aid, because the Ear Gear Product requires you to pull off and then reattach the tube to the earmold. But for many parents of young children, the peace of mind from knowing their hearing aids won’t turn into hidden treasure will be well worth the additional step.