It most likely seems like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. When you first obtained your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care instructions, after all. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard to routine hearing aid maintenance. But it’s quite likely that you might forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you might still have questions like, how frequently should I clean my hearing aid? Or, how frequently should I get 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 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
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Even though your hearing aids might provide a certain amount of water resistance, you generally want to keep moisture away from them. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Store your hearing aids somewhere dry and cool. Many people wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. So the steamy bathroom won’t be a great place to keep your hearing aids. And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, store them in the same place every day. Also, cats love to play with hearing aids and dogs will occasionally attempt to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying about.
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, avoid using hair care products. That is, take your hearing aids out before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Keep a dehumidifier running during those more humid months. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids may be more moist more frequently. And the delicate electronics inside of your device will be compromised. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier going.
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
The human body naturally produces earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid designers are well aware of this. The majority of contemporary hearing aids include features that are designed to manage a modest earwax production.
Your job is to be certain your hearing aids don’t become inundated with ear wax. This means inspecting and replacing the wax guards when needed (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning program). Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can assist you with that.
How frequently should wax guards be replaced? Well, for most models, it will be around once a month or so.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your batteries keep your hearing aids working. Your hearing aid will last a lot longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Be certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. You can wipe them down with a clean cloth if they aren’t. As with most electronics, moisture will result in a bad time here.
- Remember to switch off your hearing aids when you aren’t using them. Otherwise, your battery will just sit there and drain. Consequently, when you need your hearing aids the most, they might not be charged enough to function.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away over and over again.
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 sorts of offending materials. By design, hearing aids are really delicate and probably won’t do well with things like crumbs.
In general, you should only touch your hearing aids with clean hands. So give your hands a quick wash before you have to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
It may seem like, once you purchase your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. Generally, though, this is not the situation. Here are some very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still important.:
- Cleaning and maintenance.
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
- Keep an eye on the status of your hearing loss (making sure it’s not advancing faster than expected).
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (maybe you accidentally step on them). You should call us as soon as possible in situations like this.
If your device requires any repairs, or you need a new one, we can help with that.
Make an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next set of hearing aids.