It most likely feels like a simple thing to care for your hearing aids. After all, you were likely given a set of care guidelines when you initially purchased your devices. 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 retain some of it. So you could still have questions like, how often should I clean my hearing aid? What about my service schedule? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in good working order, check out the following tips.
Tip #1: Try not to allow your hearing aids to get wet
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Hearing aids are slightly water resistant but aren’t at all waterproof, so they should be kept as dry as possible. Here are several ways to do just that:
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, avoid using hair care products. When you’re going to utilize hair spray or gel, remove your hearing aids. Your hearing aid can really get gunked up from these kinds of products.
- Keep a dehumidifier going during those more humid months. When it’s very humid, your hearing aids can have more moisture than you would want even indoors. And the fragile electronics inside of your device will be damaged. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
- Store your hearing aids someplace dry and cool. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be somewhat of a challenge for lots of individuals. So the steamy bathroom isn’t going to be a great place to keep your hearing aids. And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, store them in the same place every day. Also, cats love to play with hearing aids and dogs will occasionally attempt to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying around.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body naturally produces earwax in a healthy way. It’s also something that hearing aid designers recognize is going to occur. The majority of modern hearing aids incorporate features that are created to cope with a modest earwax production.
It’s up to you to be sure there’s not 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 invest in specialized little tools for this and we can assist you with that.
How frequently should wax guards be swapped? Well, for the majority of models, it will be about once every month or so.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your batteries keep your hearing aids working. Your hearing aid will last a lot longer if you keep your batteries fresh. The following are some tips for battery care:
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: This will save you a lot of money on wasted batteries.
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, don’t forget to turn them 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.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery clean and dry. You can wipe them down with a clean cloth if they aren’t. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
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 by themselves. Your hands (which you need to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all kinds of offending materials. By design, hearing aids are very sensitive and likely won’t do well with things like crumbs.
It’s essential 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 cleanse.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
It might seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. But… this is not normally correct. Most individuals who have hearing loss will want to schedule routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- To help make sure your devices fit well.
- Keep an eye on the status of your hearing loss (making sure it isn’t advancing faster than expected).
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (maybe you accidentally step on them). You should call us as soon as you can in situations such as this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get a new set if needed.
Want to speak with us about your next set of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!
