Taking care of your hearing aids probably seems simple enough. When you initially obtained your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care guidelines, after all. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard 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 still might be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? Or, how often should I get my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as I can?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in tip-top working order, check out the following tips.
Tip #1: Try not to allow your hearing aids to get wet
Electronics generally don’t like wetness. Hearing aids are slightly water resistant but aren’t at all waterproof, so they should be kept as free from moisture as possible. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- Store your hearing aids someplace dry and cool. Understanding the best way to store your hearing aids can be somewhat of a challenge for many individuals. So the steamy bathroom won’t be a very good 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 sometimes try to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying around.
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, don’t use hair care products. When you’re going to use hair spray or gel, take out your hearing aids. Your hearing aid can really become gunked up from these types of products.
- Keep a dehumidifier running during those more humid months. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids could be more moist more often. And that dampness can compromise the delicate electronics inside. If you want to get the most longevity out of your hearing aid as possible, get that dehumidifier running!
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
Earwax production is a healthy and normal thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid makers know is going to happen. As a result, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to be sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means checking and swapping the wax guards when necessary (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 often should wax guards be replaced? You will change these wax guards about once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your Hearing aids rely on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last a lot longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are a few battery-care steps you can take:
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away again and again .
- Be certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. You can wipe them with a clean cloth if they aren’t. This is yet another place in your device where moisture is the enemy.
- Don’t forget to switch off your hearing aids when you aren’t wearing them. Or else, your battery will just sit there and drain. For this reason, when you most need your hearing aids, they may not be charged enough to work.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your hearing aids
Most of the time, you should be wearing your hearing aids. 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 sorts of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). By design, hearing aids are really sensitive and likely 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 leave your hearing specialist in the dust. But… this is not typically true. Most people with hearing loss will want to make routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- To keep track of and monitor the advancement of your hearing loss.
- To help you adjust your fit.
What should you do when something breaks?
Sometimes, something could go wrong (perhaps you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. You should get in touch with us as soon as you can in cases such as this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if needed.
Want to talk to us about your next pair of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!