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Shameera, 11 years old , wearing her yellow Ear Gear Original, with her parents Mark and Assunta

Our Daughter
Shameera was born in October 1996. She was our second child and we quickly realized that she was not meeting her developmental milestones. Testing revealed that she had a rare chromosome abnormality called Partial Trisomy 18. In addition to having a significant cognitive delay, Shameera also had a mild to moderate hearing loss. Shameera’s hearing loss was diagnosed at the age of two. She started wearing behind the ear hearing aids soon after. The solution – hearing aids -- then became the challenge. How to keep them on!

The Challenge
Shameera’s developmental delays made it hard for her to understand that the hearing aids helped her to hear. The hearing aids chafed, they buzzed and they were uncomfortable .It was a battle to get her to wear them. The minute we turned our back, Shameera would rip the hearing aids off her ears. We spent hours looking for them. We turned to the audiologists at our local hearing clinic, for a solution. They were aware of a few products and we tried a couple of them. But for one reason or another, they really just didn’t do the job. It seemed the best solution was just keeping a watchful eye.

Active Toddler
As Shameera got older, the situation improved. Shameera began to wear her hearing aids on a more regular basis, but we still had problems. Shameera was an active toddler and when she was playing, the hearing aids fell off. Sometimes she’d take them off because the hearing aids made the skin behind her ears raw and sore. At other times, Shameera would just decide that she didn’t want to wear her hearing aids and she’d hide them around the house.
 

Digital Hearing Aids
At the same time, hearing aid technology was evolving. Digital hearing aids were becoming the standard in hearing aid technology. We, like all parents, wanted Shameera to have the best, and we upgraded from analog hearing aids that cost about$1500.00 to digital hearing aids that cost almost $4,000.00. Suddenly, the thought that Shameera could lose these aids became very frightening.

Then it Happened
Shameera was visiting at Grandma’s house (6000 sq ft). She decided to take off her hearing aids. When it was time to go home , we realized that she wasn’t wearing her hearing aids. We searched everywhere, upstairs, on the main floor, downstairs and outside. We asked Shameera numerous times what she’d done with them but she couldn’t tell us. Those hearing aids were lost. They were nowhere to be found. Three weeks later, just when we’d given up, the hearing aids were found. Shameera was going through her pirate stage at that time and she had decided to bury the hearing aids in a treasure box and hide them under a cushion on the hideaway sofa.

Ear Gear was Born!
Mark, Shameera’s dad, decided enough was enough! He wanted to figure out some way to keep Shameera’s hearing aids secure and safe. What Mark developed was a colorful pair of spandex boots that would cover Shameera’s hearing aids and essentially lock them in. These boots would then be attached to a cord and a clip. Now, if Shameera took her hearing aids off they would hang safely, with the added bonus that it was very difficult for Shameera to remove the hearing aids from the boots. In a nutshell, this new product kept Shameera’s hearing aids more secure.They also looked great and reduced chafing on Shameera’s ear. Shameera loved them! Our audiologist loved them! EAR GEAR was born!

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Child & Adult Hearing Aid Safety Product designed to Cover, Protect and Prevent Hearing Aid Loss! Ear Gear is an innovative new product for hearing aids that sets the standard in hearing aid security and protection. Ear Gear is being worn by hearing impaired people of all ages including infants, children, teens, and adults.