Taking care of your hearing aids likely feels simple enough. When you initially got your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care instructions, after all. The majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard to regular hearing aid maintenance. But it’s quite likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you may still have questions like, how often 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, easy-to-follow tips can help give you some answers, as well as easy ways to help in maintaining your hearing aids so they work better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics typically don’t like moisture. Even though your hearing aids may offer a certain amount of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Beyond the obvious, this means you need to do things like the following:
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids may be more moist more frequently. And the fragile electronics inside of your device can be damaged. If you want to get the most longevity out of your hearing aid as you can, get that dehumidifier going!
- Find a cool and dry place to store your hearing aids when you’re not wearing them. Knowing the best way to store your hearing aids can be a bit of a challenge for lots of individuals. Well, don’t, for instance, store them in your bathroom (which gets nice and 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 attempt to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying about.
- Stay away from using hair products while your hearing aids are in. That is, remove your hearing aids before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These types of products can really gunk up your devices.
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
The human body naturally produces earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid manufacturers are well aware of this. 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. So make changing out your wax guard, when necessary, a regular element of your cleaning schedule. Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can invest in specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? You will change these wax guards approximately once every month on most models.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your Hearing aids depend on your batteries for power. The healthier your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your device will last. The following are some tips for battery care:
- 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.
- Remember to switch 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 might quit working when you really need them.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable device: This will save you lots of money on wasted batteries.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your hearing aids
The majority of the time, you should be wearing your hearing aids. But they don’t get there on their own. Your hands (which are required in order to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all sorts of offending materials. By design, hearing aids are really sensitive 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 cleanse.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
You might think that you won’t require any assistance from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. Typically, though, this is not the case. Most individuals with hearing loss will want to set up routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making sure it isn’t advancing faster than expected).
- To help make sure your devices fit well.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
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 occurs, you should get in touch with us as quickly as possible.
We will be able to help you repair your devices, or get a new set if needed.
Make an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next set of hearing aids.