Caring for your hearing aids likely seems simple enough. When you initially obtained your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care guidelines, after all. In regard to routine hearing aid maintenance, the majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. Still, getting that much information at once means you probably didn’t retain some of it. So you still might be wondering, what should my cleaning schedule look like? What about my service schedule? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as I can?
These five, simple-to-follow tips can help provide some answers, as well as simple ways to help in taking care of your hearing aids so they function better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really get along that well. Hearing aids are somewhat water resistant but aren’t at all waterproof, so they need to be kept as free from moisture as possible. Here are several ways to do just that:
- Stay away from using hair products while you’re wearing your hearing aids. That is, remove your hearing aids before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Keep a dehumidifier going during those more humid months. When it’s extremely humid, your hearing aids can have more moisture than you would want even inside. And that moisture can compromise the delicate electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
- Keep your hearing aids somewhere cool and dry. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be a bit of a challenge for lots of people. Well, don’t, for instance, keep them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a day). And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, store them in the same place every day. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying about, dogs like to eat them and cats love to play with them!
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body naturally produces earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid makers are well aware of this. 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. So make changing out your wax guard, when necessary, a routine element of your cleaning schedule. Depending on which model hearing aid you have, you can invest in specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
How often should wax guards be swapped? You will swap these wax guards about once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. Your hearing aid will last a lot longer if you keep your batteries fresh. The following are a few tips for battery care:
- Remember to switch off your devices when you aren’t using them. Or else, your battery will just sit there and drain. And that means your hearing aids may stop working when you really need them.
- Make certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with electronics in general, moisture will result in a bad outcome here.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: This will save you a lot of money on wasted batteries.
Tip #4: Wash your hands before handling your hearing aids
The majority of the time, your hearing aids should be in your ears. But they depend on you to put them in. Your hands (which you need to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all kinds of offending substances. By design, hearing aids are really delicate and likely 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 wash before you need to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Stay in touch with your hearing specialist
You may assume that you won’t require any assistance from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. But… this isn’t normally true. Here are several very good reasons why scheduling regular appointments with us is still important.:
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making certain it isn’t progressing faster than expected).
- To help you adjust your fit.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
What should you do when something breaks?
Occasionally, something could go wrong (maybe you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. You should contact us as soon as possible in cases such as this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get a new set if needed.
Want to talk to us about your next set of hearing aids? Set up an appointment today!