Caring for your hearing aids probably feels simple enough. When you first obtained your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care guidelines, after all. With regard to routine hearing aid maintenance, most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. 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 frequently should I clean my hearing aid? Or, how often should I get my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
These five, easy-to-follow tips can help give you some answers, as well as easy ways to help in taking care of your hearing aids so they work better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics typically don’t like moisture. Although your hearing aids might provide a certain level of water resistance, you typically want to keep them dry. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- When you have your hearing aids in your ears, avoid using hair care products. When you’re going to utilize hair spray or gel, take out your hearing aids. Your hearing aid can really get gunked up from these types of products.
- Keep a dehumidifier running during those more humid months. When it’s extremely humid, your hearing aids can have more dampness than you would want even inside. And that moisture can compromise the sensitive electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
- Keep your hearing aids somewhere dry and cool. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be a bit of a challenge for lots of individuals. Well, don’t, for example, store them in your bathroom (which gets really steamy at least once every day). It also helps to store them in the same place every day so you’re not wondering where they went. Also, cats like to play with hearing aids and dogs will occasionally try to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying around.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a healthy and normal thing for the human body to do. Hearing aid designers are well aware of this. The majority of modern hearing aids have features that are created to deal with a modest earwax production.
It’s up to you to make sure there’s not too much earwax on your hearing aids. So make changing out your wax guard, when needed, a regular part of your cleaning routine. Depending on which model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? Well, for most models, it will be about once every month or so.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids working. The healthier your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. The following are a few tips for battery care:
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable device: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away over and over again.
- Make 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 lead to a bad outcome here.
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, remember to switch the power off. This just drains the battery for, well, no good reason. Consequently, when you need your hearing aids the most, they may not be charged enough to work.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your hearing aids
Most of the time, you should be wearing your hearing aids. But they don’t get there by themselves. You use your fingers to put in your hearing aids, and those fingers could contain all kinds of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). By design, hearing aids are very delicate and probably won’t do well with things like crumbs.
Generally, you should only handle your hearing aids with clean hands. So before you put in or take out your hearing aids, give your hands a quick cleanse.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
You may assume that you won’t require any assistance from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. But… this isn’t typically correct. Here are a number of very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still relevant.:
- To help you fine-tune your fit.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- To keep track of and monitor the progression of your hearing loss.
What should you do when something breaks?
Occasionally, something could go wrong (perhaps you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. When this occurs, you should get in touch with us as quickly as you can.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get a new set if needed.
Schedule an appointment with us today to talk about your current or next pair of hearing aids.