It most likely seems like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. When you first obtained your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care guidelines, after all. With regard to routine hearing aid maintenance, most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. But it’s quite likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you still may be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? Or, how frequently should I get my hearing aid serviced? How can I get the most life from my hearing aids?
These five, simple-to-follow tips can help give you some answers, as well as easy ways to help in taking care of your hearing aids so they work better longer.
Tip #1: Try not to allow your hearing aids to get wet
Electronics usually don’t do well with moisture. While your hearing aids might provide a certain level of water resistance, you typically want to keep them dry. Here are several ways to do just that:
- When you have your hearing aids in your ears, don’t use hair care products. That is, remove your hearing aids before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. Your hearing aid can really get gunked up from these kinds of products.
- When it’s humid outdoors, run a dehumidifier. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids may be more moist more often. And the fragile electronics inside of your device will be damaged. Prolonging hearing aid life might mean keeping that dehumidifier going.
- Keep your hearing aids somewhere cool and dry. Many individuals wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. So the steamy bathroom isn’t going to be a very good place to keep your hearing aids. It also helps to store them in the same place every day so you’re not wondering where you put them. Also, cats like to play with hearing aids and dogs will sometimes try to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying around.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a normal and healthy thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid manufacturers know is going to occur. The majority of contemporary hearing aids incorporate features that are designed to deal 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 necessary (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning schedule). You can buy and utilize specialized 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 approximately once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your Hearing aids count on your batteries for power. The healthier your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. The following are some tips for battery care:
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery clean and dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can make use of a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with most electronics, moisture will result in a bad outcome here.
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away again and again .
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, don’t forget to switch the power off. This just kills the battery for, well, no good reason. Consequently, when you most need your hearing aids, they might not be charged enough to function.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your devices
Your hearing aids are going to be in your ears most of the time. But they depend on you to put them in. Your hands (which are required in order to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all sorts of offending substances. By design, hearing aids are very delicate and likely won’t do well with things like crumbs.
In general, you should only touch your hearing aids with clean hands. So before you put in or take out your hearing aids, give your hands a quick wash.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
It might seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can just forget all about your hearing specialist. Generally, though, this is not the situation. Here are some very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still significant.:
- Keep track of the status of your hearing loss (making certain it’s not advancing faster than expected).
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (perhaps you accidentally step on them). When this occurs, you should contact us as quickly as you can.
We will be able to help you repair your devices, or get a new set if necessary.
Want to talk to us about your next set of hearing aids? Make an appointment today!