It probably feels like a simple thing to care for your hearing aids. When you initially obtained your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care guidelines, after all. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to when it comes to routine hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting that much information at once means you most likely didn’t remember some of it. So you might still have questions like, how frequently should I clean my hearing aid? What about my service schedule? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
These five, simple-to-follow tips can help provide some answers, as well as easy ways to help in maintaining your hearing aids so they function better longer.
Tip #1: Try not to allow your hearing aids to get wet
Electronics usually don’t like wetness. Even though your hearing aids might offer a certain amount of water resistance, you generally want to keep moisture away from them. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- When you have your hearing aids in your ears, avoid using hair care products. That is, take your hearing aids out before using a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Find a dry and cool spot to store your hearing aids when you’re not using them. Many people wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. So the steamy bathroom isn’t going to be a great place to store your hearing aids. 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 love to play with them!
- Keep a dehumidifier going during those more humid months. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids could be more damp more often. And that dampness can compromise the delicate electronics inside. If you want to get the most longevity out of your hearing aid as possible, get that dehumidifier running!
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 makers understand is going to occur. Most modern hearing aids have features that are designed to deal with a moderate earwax production.
Your task is to be certain your hearing aids don’t become overloaded with ear wax. This means inspecting and swapping the wax guards when necessary (and making that an element of your hearing aid cleaning schedule). Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
How often should wax guards be swapped? Well, for most models, it will be around once every month or so.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your Hearing aids depend on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are a few battery-care steps you can take:
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, remember to switch the power off. Or else, your battery will just sit there and drain. And that means your hearing aids may quit working when you least want them to.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery dry and clean. You can wipe them with a clean cloth if they aren’t. As with electronics in general, moisture will result in a bad outcome here.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away again and again .
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your devices
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 are required in order to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all kinds of offending materials. By design, hearing aids are really sensitive 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 wash.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
It may feel like, once you purchase your hearing aids, you can just forget all about your hearing specialist. Typically, though, this is not the situation. Here are a few very good reasons why scheduling regular appointments with us is still significant.:
- To help make sure your devices fit well.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making sure it isn’t progressing faster 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 contact us as soon as possible in situations like this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if necessary.
Want to speak with us about your next pair of hearing aids? Set up an appointment today!