Sarah Ivermee, the mind behind U.K.-based company Lugs, knows that for some children, accepting who they are can be hard. Ivermee’s four-year-old son, Freddie, is deaf in one ear and has only partial hearing in the other due to congenital CMV, a virus that affects infants, and in Freddie’s case, it damaged his hearing. Because of this, he wears hearing devices, but he wasn’t always happy to have them.
Hearing aids and cochlear implants are visible, and sometimes kids feel self-conscious about wearing them.
Ivermee’s friend expressed concern over the fact that her daughter, who wore hearing aids like Freddie, never wanted to wear them because they made her feel different from the other kids at school. Plus, many hearing devices are made from plain, beige plastic — a design that’s not so appealing to a young child. Ivermee suggested that her friend decorate her daughter’s hearing aids to make them feel more like a cool accessory.
And thus, Lugs was born. The company provides kits for kids and their parents to decorate and personalize their hearing devices.
Each kit comes with stickers and PVC charms so that kids can personalize their devices to show off their interests.
Many of the kits feature popular characters from movies, video games, and TV shows, along with staple favorites like Hello Kitty and Winnie the Pooh.
Kids can decorate their devices any way they like, so not only do they end up looking cool, but they become an expression of each child.
The stickers and charms add flair, but they’re also lightweight and don’t interfere with the devices’ functioning.
For Ivermee, the company is also a personal matter; she wants Freddie to be proud of who he is and not feel ashamed.
And if she can extend that to other children in the same situation, it’s even better. “Knowing children are not just happy to wear their hearing aids and cochlears, but that they are proud to show them off makes it all worthwhile,” she says. She even says that Freddie’s younger brother, Charlie, wants his own set of Lugs, even though he’s not deaf at all!
To see everything that Lugs has to offer or to get a kit of your own, check out their website. New kits and collections are added regularly, so there will always be something to keep up with trends and fit everyone’s interests.
