It most likely seems like a simple thing to care for your hearing aids. When you first got your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care instructions, after all. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard to regular hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting all of that information at once means you most likely didn’t retain some of it. So you still may be wondering, what should my cleaning schedule look like? How about my service schedule? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
These five, simple-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: Try not to let your hearing aids get wet
Electronics usually don’t do well with wetness. Even though your hearing aids might provide a certain level of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Here are several ways to do just that:
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, don’t use hair care products. 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.
- When it’s humid outside, run a dehumidifier. When it’s very humid, your hearing aids can have more dampness than you would want even indoors. And the delicate electronics inside of your device can be damaged. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier going.
- Find a dry and cool place to keep your hearing aids when you aren’t wearing them. Understanding the best way to store your hearing aids can be somewhat of a challenge for many people. 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. By the same token, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs love to eat them and cats love to play with them!
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a normal and healthy thing for the human body to do. Hearing aid makers are well aware of this. Consequently, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to be sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means examining and swapping the wax guards when needed (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning routine). You can buy and use special cleaning tools for this, depending on your hearing aid model (ask us for recommendations here).
How often should wax guards be replaced? You will swap these wax guards around once every month on the majority of models.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. The better your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your device will last. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Keep all of the contact points on the battery dry and clean. You can wipe them down with a clean cloth if they aren’t. As with most electronics, moisture will lead to a bad time here.
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, don’t forget to turn them off. This just drains the battery for, well, no good reason. And that means your hearing aids might quit working when you least want them to.
- Invest in a rechargeable device or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away again and again .
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. Your hands (which you need to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all sorts of offending substances. By design, hearing aids are really sensitive and likely won’t do well with things like crumbs.
It’s essential that you don’t handle your hearing aids with dirty hands. So before you put in or take out your hearing aids, give your hands a quick wash.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
You may assume that you won’t need any assistance from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. In most cases, though, this isn’t the situation. Most people with hearing loss will want to set up routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
- To track and monitor the advancement of your hearing loss.
What should you do when something breaks?
Occasionally, something could go wrong (perhaps you accidentally step on them) despite your best effort. You should get in touch with us as soon as you can in cases like this.
If your device requires any repairs, or you need to get a new one, we can help with that.
Make an appointment with us today to talk about your current or next set of hearing aids.