It probably feels like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. After all, you were most likely given a set of care guidelines when you initially purchased 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 might forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you still may be wondering, what should my cleaning schedule look like? Or, how often should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in good working order, look at the following tips.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Hearing aids are somewhat water resistant but aren’t at all waterproof, so they need to be kept as dry as possible. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Store your hearing aids someplace cool and dry. Understanding the best way to store your hearing aids can be a bit of a challenge for many individuals. Well, don’t, for example, store them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a 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 around, dogs like to eat them and cats like to play with them!
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids might be more moist more often. And that dampness can compromise the delicate electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
- Stay away from using hair products while your hearing aids are in. When you’re going to use hair spray or gel, take out your hearing aids. Your hearing aid can really become gunked up from these types of products.
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 designers recognize is going to occur. Most modern hearing aids incorporate features that are created to deal with a moderate earwax production.
It’s up to you to make sure there’s not too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means inspecting and swapping the wax guards when necessary (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning schedule). 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 often should wax guards be replaced? Well, for most models, it will be around once every month or so.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. The better your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your device will last. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: This will save you lots of money on wasted batteries.
- Remember to turn off your devices when you aren’t using them. Otherwise, your battery will just sit there and drain. Consequently, when you most need your hearing aids, they may not be charged enough to work.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery clean and dry. You can wipe them with a clean cloth if they aren’t. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
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. You use your fingers to put your hearing aids in, and those hands could contain all kinds of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). By design, hearing aids are very delicate and likely won’t do well with things like crumbs.
It’s essential 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 wash.
Tip #5 Stay in touch with your hearing specialist
You might think that you won’t need any assistance from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. Typically, though, this isn’t the case. Here are a few very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still important.:
- To help you calibrate your fit.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making certain it isn’t progressing quicker than expected).
What should you do when something breaks?
Occasionally, 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 possible in cases like this.
We will be able to help you repair your devices, or get a new set if necessary.
Want to speak with us about your next set of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!