Caring for your hearing aids probably seems simple enough. After all, you were probably given a set of care instructions when you initially bought your devices. In regard to routine hearing aid maintenance, most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. But it’s very likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you could still have questions like, how often should I clean my hearing aid? What about my service schedule? How can I get the most life from my hearing aids?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in tip-top working order, look at the following tips.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Although your hearing aids might offer a certain degree of water resistance, you typically want to keep moisture away from them. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Don’t use hair products while you’re wearing your hearing aids. When you’re going to use hair spray or gel, take out your hearing aids. These types of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Store your hearing aids somewhere cool and dry. Many people wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. Well, don’t, for instance, store them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once every day). And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, keep them in the same spot every day. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying about, dogs love to eat them and cats like to play with them!
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids could be more damp more often. And the delicate electronics inside of your device will be compromised. If you want to get the most longevity out of your hearing aid as you can, get that dehumidifier running!
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body normally produces earwax in a healthy way. It’s also something that hearing aid manufacturers recognize is going to occur. As a result, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to make sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. So make swapping out your wax guard, when needed, a routine part of your cleaning regimen. 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 frequently should wax guards be swapped? You will change these wax guards approximately once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your Hearing aids count on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last a lot longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable device: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away over and over again.
- Be sure all of the battery contacts and components are dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can make use of a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with electronics in general, moisture will result in a bad outcome here.
- 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. And that means your hearing aids may stop working when you really need them.
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. You use your fingers to put your hearing aids in, and those hands could contain all sorts of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). Your hearing aids are sensitive devices by design, so crumbs aren’t really very good for them.
It’s important that you don’t touch your hearing aids with dirty hands. So before you put in or take out your hearing aids, give your hands a quick cleanse.
Tip #5 Stay in touch with your hearing specialist
You may think that you won’t need any help from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. But… this is not usually true. Most people with hearing loss will want to schedule regular appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To track and monitor the advancement of your hearing loss.
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
What should you do when something breaks?
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (perhaps you accidentally step on them). You should get in touch with us as soon as you can in cases such as this.
We will be able to help you repair your devices, or get a new set if needed.
Want to talk to us about your next pair of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!
