Taking care of your hearing aids probably feels simple enough. When you initially got your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care guidelines, after all. With regard to regular hearing aid maintenance, the majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. But it’s quite likely that you might forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you could still have questions like, how frequently should I clean my hearing aid? How about my service schedule? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as I can?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in tip-top working order, check out the following tips.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics usually don’t like moisture. Although your hearing aids may provide a certain amount of water resistance, you typically want to keep them dry. Beyond the obvious, this means you should 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.
- Find a dry and cool place to store your hearing aids when you’re not using them. Many people 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 every day). And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, store them in the same spot every day. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying about, dogs like to eat them and cats like to play with them!
- Keep a dehumidifier going during those more humid months. When it’s really humid, your hearing aids can have more dampness than you would want even inside. And the delicate electronics inside of your device will be damaged. 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
The human body normally produces earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid manufacturers are well aware of this. As a result, most hearing aids are created to deal with a moderate amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to be sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means inspecting and replacing the wax guards when needed (and making that an element of your hearing aid cleaning program). Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can assist you with that.
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? You will swap these wax guards around once every month on most models.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your Hearing aids rely 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:
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: This will save you lots of money on wasted batteries.
- Be sure all of the battery contacts and components are dry. You can wipe them with a clean cloth if they aren’t. As with electronics in general, moisture will lead to a bad outcome here.
- When you’re not using your hearing aids, remember to turn them off. Or else, your battery will just sit there and drain. For this reason, when you most need your hearing aids, they might not be charged enough to function.
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your hearing aids
Most 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 types of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). Your hearing aids are delicate devices by design, so crumbs aren’t really very good for them.
In general, 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 cleanse.
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. But… this is not typically correct. Most people who have hearing loss will want to schedule regular appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To keep track of and monitor the development of your hearing loss.
- To help you fine-tune your fit.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, something could go wrong (perhaps you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. When this takes place, 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.
Schedule an appointment with us today to discuss your current or next set of hearing aids.