Today’s hearing aids are increasingly durable, easy-to-use and reliable, but proper hearing aid care and maintenance are still essential for expanding the life of your hearing aid and ensuring many years of trouble-free use. After all, your hearing instruments have to withstand moisture and heat, earwax, skin flakes, oil and hair care products on a daily basis. Although you may be tempted to simply stick the hearing aid in your ear and forget about it, you should make it a habit to:

• Avoid heat and moisture.  Throughout the day, moisture can easily build up inside your hearing aid and affect the internal components. To prolong the life of the hearing aid, leave it out at night with the battery door open or use the special drying kit provided by your hearing healthcare professional so it gets the chance to dry out. Make sure you remember to remove the hearing aid before swimming, showering, bathing or exercising as well.
• Clean hearing aids daily. Earwax and ear drainage can damage a hearing aid so cleaning it is extremely important to maintaining a properly function instrument. Luckily, most hearing aids have a wax filter to keep the components from plugging up so sound can continue filtering in to the ear. Change the filter when needed and keep it clean in between changes.
• Don’t use makeup and hairspray, or other hair care products, while wearing hearing aids. The tiny particles produced by hair spray or make-up can easily block a microphone inlet, thus affecting the intake of sound.
• Turn your hearing aid off while not in use. This not only saves the battery life, but it also puts less strain on your hearing aid. You can also open the battery door so the battery is not in contact with the internal components to ensure the battery isn’t being used.
• Make sure the batteries are out of reach of children and animals. Dogs and cats get irritated by the feedback of the hearing aid and often end up chewing it to pieces if left unattended. If you don’t feel like you are in a safe place, keep your batteries and hearing aids in their case and out of reach.
• Use a soft, dry cloth to clean the instruments whenever they are removed from your ears. It is extremely important to use the proper cleaning techniques when caring for your hearing aids. Never use household cleaning agents or oil products- they can damage the electronic circuitry. Our audiology staff may also provide you with additional cleaning tools appropriate for your style of hearing aid.

The small intricacies of caring for your hearing aid may seem daunting, but remember, proper hearing aid care helps retain ideal hearing conditions, extends the life of your hearing aid, and ensures proper hygiene.

Learn More About Hearing Aid Care

If you have any problems or concerns in relation to your hearing aid, please contact us today. We also offer hearing aid repair if your hearing aids are damaged.