Surprisingly, about 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. The common idea is that ear infections are something that usually impact kids. And it’s accurate that ear infections are more prevalent in kids, but they also happen frequently in adults.
For adults with hearing impairments or hearing loss, ear infections can be especially inconvenient, as they can interact with hearing aids in some unpleasant ways. Also, when hearing aids are not properly maintained, they can become a vector for ear infection-causing diseases.
So, you might be wondering: Can I use hearing aids while I have an ear infection? You can, but it may not be something you want to do. Hearing aids could aggravate the discomfort and swelling caused by an ear infection. However, there are some steps that people who use hearing aids can take to help prevent and treat ear infection symptoms.
Do hearing aids cause ear infections?
If you’re an adult with hearing loss and you start to notice the symptoms of an ear infection, you might begin to wonder: did my hearing aids cause this ear infection? The technical answer is no. But in order to get the full picture we have to view it in greater detail.
Nearly all ear infections are caused by bacteria or a virus that gets into the ear. There are a wide variety of vectors that can lead to infection. In some circumstances, the inner ear becomes infected after a past illness (for instance, a sinus infection or a cold). An infection may be caused by fluid accumulation in other situations. It’s also entirely possible that a virus or bacteria directly infected the inner ear by physical transmission.
For individuals who wear hearing aids, this can be a regular occurrence. Your hearing aid accumulates this bacteria or virus and then gets inserted directly into your ear. That’s why it is critical for people with hearing impairments to properly maintain and clean their devices. So the virus or bacteria is really the cause of the infection, not the hearing aid itself. But your hearing aid is involved in this transmission.
Interactions between hearing aids and ear infections
So what is the degree of interaction between hearing aids and ear infections? The best way to anticipate what to expect is to examine the most prevalent ear infection symptoms. Here are a few of the most prevalent symptoms of ear infections:
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Swelling and inflammation
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Ear pain
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Temporary loss of hearing in some cases
Needless to say, everybody will experience the symptoms in their own way. In most circumstances, your infected ear will be painful and there will most likely be noticeable swelling around the inner ear. For people with hearing loss, these symptoms can interact unfavorably with your hearing aids. That’s because your hearing aid will most likely (at least in part) reside within the ear canal. Your hearing aids might cause added discomfort as they irritate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Also, with a hearing aid that sits mostly inside the ear canal, fluid drainage can be obstructed. Your infection and discomfort may last longer if fluid is trapped in your ear. The pain and pressure in your ears will be increased because of this. When you are wearing your hearing aid, pressure can be even more uncomfortable.
The performance of your hearing aid can also be impacted by the extra moisture. So your hearing aids aren’t functioning at peak performance and your ears are in pain. This means that you will have a horrible time wearing your hearing aid while you have an ear infection.
Strategies to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
So what can you do if your hearing aids are bothering you during an ear infection? There are a number of steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting ear infections and to manage the discomfort that an ear infection might cause. Here are a few of those steps:
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: You can take a break from your hearing aids for a few days if you have significant or persistent pain. During this interim period, you can adopt other means of communicating with your loved ones (like texting or writing messages on a piece of paper, and so on).
- Talk to your healthcare provider: You should talk to your doctor sooner than later if you suspect you may be developing an ear infection. The sooner you treat the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms may be.
- Practice good ear hygiene: It’s important to keep your ears clean and dry and regularly clean your outer ear. However, you should never stick any object inside of your ear and that includes cotton swabs. Using cotton swabs can push earwax and other debris further into your ear, increasing your risk of developing an infection. This is the opposite of what you’re likely attempting to accomplish.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: If your ears begin to feel better, but the discomfort from your hearing aids doesn’t go away, think about talking to us to see if you can get a better fit on your devices.
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Keeping your device clean can lessen the risk of transmitting bacteria or viruses to your ears. If you don’t know how to clean and sanitize hearing aids, talk to us for some instruction.
Hearing aids are most likely a crucial part of your daily life. They help you get around your world more easily and have better communication with your friends and family. That makes it really difficult to give up your hearing aid even for short periods. However, you will have a speedier recovery from your ear infection if you take a break from wearing them until you heal up. That means you can get back to enjoying what you hear faster.
It’s not uncommon for individuals to get ear infections. But you should still get treatment if you detect symptoms. If you have questions about how ear infections might impact your hearing aid use, give us a call today.