Most deaf people don’t wear hearing aids or cochlear implants when swimming as they are not waterproof. However, you can get waterproof equipment for cochlear implants. You have to be careful and make sure you have fitted the processor properly into the waterproof case and exchange the coil with the waterproof coil. Always best to wear one if you have two, so you have a back up if the other one was to break.
My son won’t wear his waterproof case when he goes to his swimming lessons. He is scared in case it gets wet inside and then he wouldn’t be able to wear them which is understandable as he relies on having two cochlear implants and needs them for school. There don’t seem to be waterproofs available for hearing aids, so most deaf children are swimming in silence. I really wanted my son to learn to swim as it’s important especially when we go on holiday. Since he was five, he has been to so many swimming classes and it was hard to find the right one. We managed to find one last year when we joined the family membership at David Lloyd. Swim Stars coaches have been absolutely brilliant with my son. He is always happy to go and learn which is amazing, especially when he can’t hear.
When my son was little, I used to take him to parent and baby swimming classes. It was a bit difficult for me rather than him because I found it hard to lipread in the pool. Plus my son couldn’t hear anything in the pool so I would make it more visual for him using my hands and we would lift our babies up and down and move like rockets and splash around. It was really good fun and this was such a good start to get used to the swimming pool. It can be difficult for parents who are deaf and want to take their children to Baby and Swim classes. It’s the smallest things like this we face as barriers and struggles but we always find a way to adapt.
How did my deaf son learn to swim?
Learning to swim is very hard, especially when you can’t hear. The swimming coaches are aware and have been using gestures to help my son. When my son and the swimming coach got to know each other more, he became much more confident. There are other people in his class and he was able to watch them first and then copy them. I also help him when the two of us go swimming so I can keep encouraging him and help him to remember when he goes back to the swimming lessons.
One thing my son never does, is give up. He is incredibly determined. I am so proud of him. It hasn’t been an easy journey though. I tried to look for a swimming club when he was younger, but I never found the right one. He wasn’t comfortable so I had to keep moving on to find the right one. At eight years old I finally found David Lloyd Swim Stars.
Don’t give up if your child doesn’t like swimming or swimming lessons. My son cried when he was five and really struggled and the instructors didn’t understand how hard it was for him to learn without his cochlear implants. I decided to remove him from this class so he didn’t get put off, and kept looking for other classes.
It also helps if you talk to and prepare your child for swimming and about how important it is to learn to swim. There is a book you can buy and read to your child to help them understand more about swimming. I used to read Topsy and Tim Go Swimming at bedtimes.
It doesn’t matter how old your child is, there are children who also learn to swim at an older age. Your child won’t be the only one. You could also help your child to swim too, to practise and copy the swimming coach. I do this with my son so he gets extra training from me. Deaf children need things to be repeated to help with understanding.
Because I am deaf too, I totally understand how it feels not to be able to hear when you go swimming. It can be exhausting, especially swimming lessons, and trying to lipread with goggles on. Because accessibility is important to me, I have been thinking of ways how we can make it easier for deaf people. Perhaps using a white board or laminated cards with different pictures of breaststroke, crawl or backstroke could help. This would be good for older children to have something visual and a plan, so they know what they are doing.
Recently we came back from our holiday in Gran Canaria. It was really good and my son loved swimming in the pool every day. He had to swim without his cochlear implants because he was so anxious. If the processor was to break, we would need to use the “holiday loaner” but then we wouldn’t have any other back up if the holiday loaner broke too. I would be watching my son and my daughter constantly when we were near the pool to make sure they were OK. I have to say swimming lessons really helped as he can swim now, and he was able to enjoy swimming in the pool.
I mentioned earlier about the holiday loaner. This is really important and useful to have when you go on holiday. At home if the processors don’t work, I can phone the clinic and they will send a replacement the next day, however we can’t do this when we go on holiday. We contacted Cochlear and filled out a form to have back up sets, two for Ethan and one for me. When we came back from our holiday, we had to return the back up sets to Cochlear. We didn’t need or use them but for peace of mind we always take a back up with us.
Can deaf children swim professionally?
Yes, they can swim professionally, nothing will stop them! There are amazing deaf swimmers out there and some of them have even competed in Deaflympics.
My advice is to find a coach that your child feels comfortable with and tell them what support your child need. You could share this blog to swim coaches to help them be deaf aware when a deaf child join their class. Also my advice to swim coaches, learning deaf awareness course would help as well so you are prepared when a deaf child joins your swimming class.
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