Taking care of your hearing aids probably seems simple enough. When you first got your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care guidelines, after all. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to when it comes to regular hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting all of that information at once means you probably didn’t remember some of it. So you still may be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? What about my service schedule? How can I get the most life from my hearing aids?
These five, simple-to-follow tips can help give you some answers, as well as simple ways to help in maintaining your hearing aids so they function better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics generally don’t like moisture. Hearing aids are somewhat water resistant but are by no means waterproof, so they need to be kept as free from moisture as possible. Beyond the obvious, this means you need to do things like the following:
- Don’t use hair products while you’re wearing your hearing aids. That is, remove your hearing aids before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Store your hearing aids somewhere dry and cool. Many individuals question what the best way to store hearing aids is. Well, don’t, for example, store them in your bathroom (which gets really steamy at least once a day). It also helps to keep them in the same spot every day so you’re not wondering where you put them. Also, cats love to play with hearing aids and dogs will sometimes attempt to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying around.
- 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 indoors. And that moisture can compromise the delicate electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life might mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
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 manufacturers know is going to occur. Consequently, most hearing aids are created to deal with a moderate amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to make sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means inspecting and replacing the wax guards when needed (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning program). You can invest in and utilize special cleaning tools for this, depending on your hearing aid model (ask us for recommendations here).
How often should wax guards be swapped? You will swap these wax guards around once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your Hearing aids depend on your batteries for power. The better your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. The following are a few tips for battery care:
- Remember to shut off your devices when you aren’t wearing them. This just drains the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids may stop working when you least want them to.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away again and again .
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery dry and clean. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with most electronics, moisture will result in a bad time here.
Tip #4: Clean your hands before handling your hearing aids
The majority of the time, you should be wearing your hearing aids. But they don’t get there by themselves. Your hands (which you need to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all kinds of offending substances. By design, hearing aids are really delicate and likely 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 clean before you have to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
It may feel like, once you purchase your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. In most cases, though, this is not the case. Here are a number of very good reasons why scheduling regular appointments with us is still important.:
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making sure it’s not advancing faster than expected).
- To help make sure your devices fit well.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
What should you do when something breaks?
Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (maybe you accidentally step on them). When this happens, you should contact us as quickly as you can.
We will be able to help you repair 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!
