Caring for your hearing aids probably seems simple enough. When you initially obtained 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 routine hearing aid maintenance. But it’s quite 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? Or, how frequently should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I get the most life from my hearing aids?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in good working order, look at the following tips.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics generally don’t like moisture. Hearing aids are slightly water resistant but are by no means waterproof, so they need to be kept as dry as possible. Beyond the obvious, this means you need to do things like the following:
- Find a cool and dry spot to keep your hearing aids when you’re not wearing them. Understanding the best way to store your hearing aids can be somewhat of a challenge for many people. So the steamy bathroom won’t be a very good place to store your hearing aids. It also helps to store them in the same spot every day so you’re not wondering where they went. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs like to eat them and cats love to play with them!
- Don’t use hair products while your hearing aids are in. That is, remove your hearing aids before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. Your hearing aid can really become gunked up from these kinds of products.
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. When it’s extremely humid, your hearing aids can have more moisture than you would want even inside. And the delicate electronics inside of your device will be damaged. If you want to get the most life out of your hearing aid as you can, get that dehumidifier running!
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a healthy and normal thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid makers recognize is going to happen. Most contemporary hearing aids incorporate 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. So make swapping out your wax guard, when necessary, a routine part of your cleaning schedule. You can buy and utilize special cleaning tools for this, depending on what model you have (ask us for guidance here).
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? You will change these wax guards about once every month on most models.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your Hearing aids rely on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. The following are some tips for battery care:
- Invest in a rechargeable device or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away again and again .
- When you’re not using your hearing aids, don’t forget to turn them off. This just kills the battery for, well, no good reason. Because of this, when you most need your hearing aids, they might not be charged enough to work.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery dry and clean. If they are dirty or wet, you can make use of a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
Tip #4: Wash your hands before handling your hearing aids
Most of the time, your hearing aids should be 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 probably won’t do well with things like crumbs.
Generally, you should only handle your hearing aids with clean hands. So give your hands a quick clean before you have to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
It may seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. Typically, though, this isn’t the case. Here are several very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still relevant.:
- Keep an eye on the status of your hearing loss (making certain it isn’t progressing quicker than expected).
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Occasionally, something could go wrong (maybe you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. When this occurs, you should contact us as quickly as possible.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if necessary.
Make an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next pair of hearing aids.
