Caring for your hearing aids probably feels easy enough. When you initially got your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care instructions, after all. The majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to when it comes to regular hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting all of that information at once means you probably didn’t remember some of it. So you may still have questions like, how frequently should I clean my hearing aid? How about my service schedule? How can I get the most life out of my hearing aids?
These five, simple-to-follow tips can help provide some answers, as well as easy ways to help in maintaining your hearing aids so they work better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really get along that well. Although your hearing aids may provide a certain amount of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Find a dry and cool place to store your hearing aids when you aren’t using them. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be a bit of a challenge for many individuals. Well, don’t, for example, store them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a day). It also helps to store them in the same place every day so you’re not trying to figure out where you put them. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs like to eat them and cats like to play with them!
- Avoid using hair products while your hearing aids are in. That is, remove your hearing aids before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These types of products can really gunk up your devices.
- When it’s humid outdoors, run a dehumidifier. When it’s very humid, your hearing aids can have more dampness than you would want even inside. And that moisture can compromise the sensitive electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life might mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body normally produces earwax in a healthy way. It’s also something that hearing aid manufacturers recognize is going to happen. Most contemporary hearing aids incorporate features that are created to cope with a modest earwax production.
Your task is to be certain your hearing aids don’t become inundated with ear wax. So make changing out your wax guard, when necessary, a regular part of your cleaning routine. You can buy and use special cleaning tools for this, depending on your hearing aid model (ask us for recommendations here).
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? You will swap these wax guards around once every month on most models.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your Hearing aids depend on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. The following are a few tips for battery care:
- Make certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. You can wipe them with a clean cloth if they aren’t. As with electronics in general, moisture will result in a bad time here.
- Remember to turn off your devices when you aren’t using them. Otherwise, your battery will just sit there and drain. And that means your hearing aids might stop working when you really need them.
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: This will save you a lot of money on wasted batteries.
Tip #4: Wash your hands before handling your hearing aids
Most of the time, your hearing aids should be in your ears. But they depend on you to put them in. You use your fingers to put in your hearing aids, and those fingers could contain all kinds of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). Your hearing aids are delicate devices by design, so crumbs aren’t really great for them.
In general, you should only touch your hearing aids with clean hands. So before you put in or take out your hearing aids, give your hands a quick wash.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
You may presume that you won’t require any help from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. But… this is not usually true. Most people who have hearing loss will want to set up regular appointments with us for the following reasons:
- Keep track of the status of your hearing loss (making sure it isn’t progressing faster than expected).
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- To help you fine-tune your fit.
What should you do when something breaks?
Occasionally, something could go wrong (maybe you accidentally step on them) despite your best effort. When this happens, you should contact us as quickly as you can.
We will be able to help you repair your devices, or get new ones if necessary.
Make an appointment with us today to talk about your current or next pair of hearing aids.
