Caring for your hearing aids likely feels simple enough. When you first obtained your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care instructions, after all. The majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard to regular hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting that much information at once means you most likely didn’t retain some of it. So you might 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 simple ways to help in taking care of your hearing aids so they work better longer.
Tip #1: Try not to let your hearing aids get wet
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Hearing aids are slightly water resistant but are by no means waterproof, so they should be kept as dry as possible. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Keep a dehumidifier running during those more humid months. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids might be more damp more frequently. And that dampness can compromise the delicate electronics inside. If you want to get the most life out of your hearing aid as you can, get that dehumidifier running!
- Find a cool and dry spot to store your hearing aids when you’re not using them. Many individuals question what the best way to store hearing aids is. Well, don’t, for instance, keep them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a day). And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, keep them in the same place every day. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs love to eat them and cats love to play with them!
- When you have your hearing aids in your ears, avoid using hair care products. When you’re going to use hair spray or gel, remove your hearing aids. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body normally produces earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid manufacturers are well aware of this. Most contemporary hearing aids include features that are created to manage a modest earwax production.
It’s up to you to make sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means inspecting and swapping the wax guards when needed (and making that an element of your hearing aid cleaning routine). Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? Well, for most models, it will be around once every month or so.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your Hearing aids depend on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Invest in a rechargeable device or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away over and over again.
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, remember to turn them off. This just kills the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids might stop working when you least want them to.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery dry and clean. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with electronics in general, moisture will lead to a bad time here.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your devices
Your hearing aids are going to spend most of their time in your ears. But they don’t get there on their own. You use your hands to put your hearing aids in, and those hands could contain all sorts of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). Your hearing aids are sensitive devices by design, so crumbs aren’t really very good for them.
Generally, you should only touch your hearing aids with clean hands. So give your hands a quick clean before you need to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
You might think that you won’t require any help from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. But… this is not normally correct. Most people with hearing loss will want to make routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making sure it’s not progressing faster than expected).
- Cleaning and maintenance.
- To help you calibrate your fit.
What should you do when something breaks?
Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (perhaps you accidentally step on them). You should contact us as soon as you can in situations like this.
If your hearing aid needs any repairs, or you need a new one, we can help with that.
Schedule an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next set of hearing aids.