Caring for your hearing aids likely seems easy enough. After all, you were probably given a set of care instructions when you first purchased your devices. The majority of 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 still might be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? Or, how frequently should I get my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as I can?
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 function better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics typically don’t like moisture. While your hearing aids might provide a certain amount of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Avoid using hair products while your hearing aids are in. That is, remove your hearing aids before using a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. When it’s really humid, your hearing aids can have more moisture than you would want even indoors. And that moisture 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!
- Keep your hearing aids someplace dry and cool. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be somewhat of a challenge for many people. Well, don’t, for example, store them in your bathroom (which gets really steamy at least once every day). And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, keep them in the same place every day. Also, cats like to play with hearing aids and dogs will sometimes try to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying about.
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
Earwax production is a healthy and normal thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid makers know is going to occur. Consequently, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a moderate amount of earwax.
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 necessary, a routine element of your cleaning regimen. Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can invest in specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
How frequently should wax guards be replaced? You will change these wax guards about once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your Hearing aids rely on your batteries for power. The better your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. So there are a few battery-care steps you can take:
- When you’re not using your hearing aids, remember to turn them off. This just kills the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids could quit working when you really need them.
- Be sure all of the battery contacts and components are dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. This is yet another place in your device where moisture is the enemy.
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away again and 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 depend on you to put them in. Your hands (which are required in order to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all sorts of offending substances. By design, hearing aids are very sensitive and likely won’t do well with things like crumbs.
In general, you should only touch 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 up with your hearing specialist
It might seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can just forget all about your hearing specialist. In most cases, though, this isn’t the case. Most people who have hearing loss will want to schedule regular appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- To keep track of and monitor the development of your hearing loss.
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
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 contact us as soon as possible in cases like this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if needed.
Make an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next pair of hearing aids.