Taking care of your hearing aids likely seems simple enough. When you first got your hearing aids, you most likely 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 that much information at once means you probably didn’t retain some of it. So you still might be wondering, what should my cleaning routine look like? Or, how often should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as possible?
If you want to keep your hearing aids in tip-top working order, look at the following tips.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Electronics generally don’t like wetness. Hearing aids are somewhat water resistant but are by no means waterproof, so they should be kept as dry as possible. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, don’t use hair care products. When you’re going to utilize hair spray or gel, remove your hearing aids. Your hearing aid can really get gunked up from these kinds of products.
- When it’s humid outdoors, run a dehumidifier. When it’s very humid, your hearing aids can have more dampness than you would want even indoors. And that dampness can compromise the sensitive electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier going.
- Find a cool and dry place to store your hearing aids when you aren’t wearing them. Many individuals wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. So the steamy bathroom isn’t going to be a great place to store your hearing aids. It also helps to store them in the same place every day so you’re not wondering where they went. Also, cats like to play with hearing aids and dogs will sometimes try to eat them, so don’t just leave them lying about.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body naturally generates earwax in a healthy way. Hearing aid designers are well aware of this. As a result, most hearing aids are created to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
Your job is to make sure your hearing aids don’t become inundated with ear wax. So make changing out your wax guard, when necessary, a regular element of your cleaning routine. Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can help you with that.
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? Well, for the majority of models, it will be about once every month or so.
Tip #3: Keep your batteries charged and fresh
Your batteries keep your hearing aids working. Your hearing aid will last much longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Don’t forget to turn off your devices when you aren’t wearing them. This just drains the battery for, well, no good reason. Consequently, when you need your hearing aids the most, they might not be charged enough to work.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable device: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away again and again .
- Make certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can make use of a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with electronics in general, moisture will result in a bad outcome here.
Tip #4: Clean your hands before handling your hearing aids
Your hearing aids are going to spend most of their time in your ears. But they don’t get there on their own. Your hands (which you need to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all sorts of offending materials. Your hearing aids are delicate devices by design, so crumbs aren’t exactly very good for them.
It’s important 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 us in the loop
It might seem like, once you purchase your hearing aids, you can just forget all about your hearing specialist. Generally, though, this is not the situation. Most individuals who have hearing loss will want to schedule regular appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
- To track and monitor the advancement of your hearing loss.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
What should you do when something breaks?
Sometimes, something could go wrong (perhaps you accidentally step on them) in spite of your best effort. You should contact us as soon as possible in cases like this.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if necessary.
Make an appointment with us today to talk about your current or next pair of hearing aids.