It most likely seems like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. After all, you were likely given a set of care guidelines when you originally bought your devices. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard to regular hearing aid maintenance. But it’s very likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you still may be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? Or, how frequently should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I get the most life out of my hearing aids?
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 work better longer.
Tip #1: Try not to let your hearing aids get wet
Electronics generally don’t like wetness. Hearing aids are somewhat water resistant but are by no means waterproof, so they need to be kept as dry as possible. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- Keep your hearing aids somewhere dry and cool. Understanding the best way to store your hearing aids can be a bit of a challenge for lots of individuals. So the steamy bathroom won’t be a very good place to store your hearing aids. 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.
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, avoid using hair care products. That is, take your hearing aids out before utilizing a lot of hair spray or hair gel. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- Keep a dehumidifier running during those more humid months. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids could be more damp more often. And that moisture can compromise the sensitive electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier going.
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
Earwax production is a normal and healthy thing for the human body to do. Hearing aid makers are well aware of this. As a result, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to make sure there’s not too much earwax on your hearing aids. So make swapping out your wax guard, when necessary, a routine element of your cleaning routine. 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 often should wax guards be swapped? You will swap these wax guards approximately once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. The following are some tips for battery care:
- Remember to turn off your devices when you aren’t using them. This just kills the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids could quit working when you least want them to.
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery clean and dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can make use of a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
- Invest in a rechargeable hearing aid or a battery charger: This will save you lots of money on wasted batteries.
Tip #4: Wash your hands before handling your hearing aids
The majority of the time, you should be wearing your hearing aids. 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 substances. Your hearing aids are sensitive devices by design, so crumbs aren’t really great for them.
Generally, you should only handle 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 up with your hearing specialist
It might feel like, once you have your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. But… this isn’t usually correct. Here are a few very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still significant.:
- To track and monitor the progression of your hearing loss.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
- To help you adjust your fit.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, something could go wrong (maybe you accidentally step on them) despite your best effort. When this happens, you should contact us as quickly as possible.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if needed.
Want to speak with us about your next pair of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!