How Do You Care for a Hearing Aid?

You utilize your hearing aids every day to communicate with family, friends and coworkers. In the rare instances when your hearing aids malfunction, it can be a tough few days or weeks while you wait for them to be repaired. Through some preventative maintenance and proper care, you can extend the life of your hearing aids and reduce the chance of them going wrong and having to manage without them.

Here are some helpful tips that will make sure you can get the most out of your devices.

Store in a dry place

Your hearing aids have some very sophisticated technology in them and extensive circuitry in a tiny shell. When this gets exposed to moisture, it can cause a lot of damage. Although hearing aids are now being made that are more water-resistant, it’s a good idea to still remove them when you shower or swim. If your hearing aids do come into contact with water, dry them immediately with a towel. Never attempt to dry them with a hair drier or another heated device since the high heat can cause damage.

If you live in a humid area, you might want to store your devices in a specialized hearing aid dehumidifier to protect them.

Change your batteries 

Hearing aid batteries can cause damage to your devices if you leave them in for a long time. The trapped moisture can cause the batteries to begin to corrode and damage the hearing aids. Remember to open the battery door when you’re not wearing your hearing aids. If, for some reason, you will not be using your hearing aids for a few days, remove the batteries.

When you change the batteries, remember to clean the battery contacts in the devices. This can be done by gently wiping them with a dry cotton swab. If the battery contacts on your devices are left dirty, it can make for a poor connection and worse performance.

Remove any earwax

Earwax is one of the main reasons behind lowered performance in hearing aids. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to avoid having your devices come in contact with earwax entirely. This is why it’s so important to clean them frequently. After wearing your hearing aids, take a dry cotton swab or soft toothbrush and gently remove any earwax or other debris from the device. Remember to clean both the receiver and the microphone.

Check your wax filter

As well as removing earwax from your hearing aid, you will also need to replace the wax filter or wax guard occasionally. The filter stops wax from reaching the internal components of the hearing aid and causing damage. This should be done whenever you begin to notice any build-up on the filter.

It’s important to know that not all devices use the same filters. Your audiologist can advise you which one to use and show you how to change it for your device.