Taking care of your hearing aids probably feels simple enough. After all, you were likely given a set of care instructions when you originally purchased your devices. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to when it comes to regular hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting all of that information at once means you probably didn’t retain some of it. So you may still have questions like, how often should I clean my hearing aid? Or, how often should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I get the most life out of my hearing aids?
These five, easy-to-follow tips can help provide some answers–as well as simple ways to help in maintaining your hearing aids so they work better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really get along that well. Even though your hearing aids may offer a certain degree of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- Avoid using hair products while your hearing aids are in. (That is, take your hearing aids out before using a lot of hair spray or hair gel.) These types of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Keep a dehumidifier going during those more humid months. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids may be more damp more often. And that moisture can compromise the sensitive electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life might mean keeping that dehumidifier going.
- Store your hearing aids somewhere dry and cool. Many people wonder, how should I store my hearing aids? Well, don’t, for example, keep them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a day). It also helps to keep them in the same place every day so you’re not wondering where they went. (By the same token, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around–dogs love to eat them and cats love to play with them!)
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a healthy and normal thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid designers know is going to happen. As a result, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a moderate amount of earwax.
Your job is to make sure your hearing aids don’t become overloaded with ear wax. This means checking and replacing the wax guards when necessary (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning routine). You can purchase and use special cleaning tools for this, depending on your hearing aid model (ask your hearing specialist for guidance here).
How often should wax guards be replaced? Well, for most models, it will be about once a month or so.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. The healthier your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your device will last. So there are a few battery-care steps you can take:
- Remember to turn off your devices when you aren’t using them. This just drains the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids may quit working when you least want them to.
- Make sure all of the battery contacts and components are dry. You can wipe them with a clean cloth if they aren’t. As with electronics in general, moisture will lead to a bad time here. (Make sure to follow best practices for drying rechargeable hearing aids here!)
- Invest in a rechargeable device or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away over and over and over again.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your devices
Your hearing aids are going to spend most of their time in your ears. But they don’t get there on their own. You use your fingers to put your hearing aids in–and those fingers could contain all kinds of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). Your hearing aids are sensitive devices by design, so crumbs aren’t exactly great for them.
In general, you should only handle your hearing aids with clean hands. So give them a quick wash before you have to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
It might feel 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 schedule regular appointments with a hearing specialist to:
- Ensure your devices fit well.
- Clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- Keep an eye on the status of your hearing loss (making sure it’s not progressing faster than expected).
- And more!
Seeing your hearing specialist can help ensure your devices are working properly, keep tabs on your hearing loss, and help you manage hearing loss symptoms.
What should you do when something breaks?
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (maybe you accidentally step on them). When this happens, you should talk to your hearing specialist as quickly as possible.
Your hearing specialist will be able to help you repair your devices–or get new ones if necessary. You can also take that opportunity to review care and cleaning best practices–so you can make sure that you treat your next hearing aids like a chef treats their knives.
Want to talk to your hearing specialist about your next pair of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment with your provider near you today!