It most likely seems like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. After all, you were most likely given a set of care instructions when you first purchased your devices. The majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to when it comes to routine hearing aid maintenance. But it’s very likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you may still have questions like, how frequently should I clean my hearing aid? How about my service schedule? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
These five, easy-to-follow tips can help give you some answers, as well as simple ways to help in taking care of your hearing aids so they function better longer.
Tip #1: Try not to let your hearing aids get wet
Moisture and electronics don’t really get along that well. Even though your hearing aids may offer a certain amount of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids might be more moist more frequently. And the fragile electronics inside of your device will be compromised. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
- Don’t use hair products while your hearing aids are in. That is, take your hearing aids out before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These types of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Find a dry and cool place to store your hearing aids when you aren’t wearing them. Many people wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. Well, don’t, for example, keep them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a day). It also helps to store them in the same spot every day so you aren’t trying to figure out where they went. By the same token, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs love to eat them and cats like to play with them!
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a normal and healthy thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid manufacturers know is going to take place. The majority of modern hearing aids include features that are designed to cope with a modest earwax production.
Your task is to make sure your hearing aids don’t become overwhelmed with ear wax. So make swapping out your wax guard, when needed, a regular part of your cleaning routine. You can invest in and utilize special cleaning tools for this, depending on your hearing aid model (ask us for guidance here).
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? Well, for the majority of models, it will be about once a month or so.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. The following are a few tips for battery care:
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away over and over again.
- Be certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with most electronics, moisture will lead to a bad outcome here.
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, remember to switch the power off. Otherwise, your battery will just sit there and drain. For this reason, when you need your hearing aids the most, they might not be charged enough to work.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your devices
The majority 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 hands could contain all types of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). By design, hearing aids are really sensitive and probably won’t do well with things like crumbs.
It’s important that you don’t handle your hearing aids with dirty 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
It might seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can just forget all about your hearing specialist. But… this is not typically correct. Most people who have hearing loss will want to make routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To track and monitor the advancement of your hearing loss.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
- To help you calibrate your fit.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, something could go wrong (perhaps you accidentally step on them) despite your best effort. You should call us as soon as you can in situations like this.
We will be able to help you repair your devices, or get new ones if needed.
Schedule an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next set of hearing aids.