It most likely seems like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. When you initially obtained your hearing aids, you most likely got a set of care guidelines, after all. The majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to when it comes to regular hearing aid maintenance. Still, getting all of that information at once means you most likely didn’t remember some of it. So you may still have questions like, how often should I clean my hearing aid? Or, how frequently should I get 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, check out the following tips.
Tip #1: Try not to let your hearing aids get wet
Electronics typically don’t do well with moisture. Even though your hearing aids might offer a certain level of water resistance, you generally want to keep them dry. Beyond the obvious, this means you should do things like the following:
- Keep a dehumidifier going during those more humid months. Even indoors, high humidity means your hearing aids may be more moist more frequently. And that dampness can compromise the delicate electronics inside. Prolonging hearing aid life may mean keeping that dehumidifier running.
- When you have your hearing aids in your ears, don’t use hair care products. 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.
- Find a cool and dry spot to keep your hearing aids when you aren’t wearing them. Many people wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. Well, don’t, for instance, store them in your bathroom (which gets nice and steamy at least once a day). It also helps to store them in the same place every day so you aren’t wondering where you put them. In the same way, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying around, dogs like to eat them and cats like to play with them!
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
The human body naturally produces earwax in a healthy way. It’s also something that hearing aid designers understand is going to occur. Consequently, most hearing aids are created to deal with a moderate amount of earwax.
Your job is to be certain your hearing aids don’t become overwhelmed with ear wax. This means inspecting and replacing the wax guards when needed (and making that an element of your hearing aid cleaning program). Depending on which model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can assist you with that.
How frequently should wax guards be replaced? You will swap these wax guards approximately once every month on most models.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your batteries keep your hearing aids going. The healthier your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. So there are a few battery-care steps you can take:
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: This will save you lots of money on wasted batteries.
- When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, don’t forget to turn them off. 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.
- Be certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. You can wipe them down with a clean cloth if they aren’t. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
Tip #4: Clean your hands before handling 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 kinds of offending substances. Your hearing aids are sensitive devices by design, so crumbs aren’t exactly great for them.
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 presume that you won’t need any assistance from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. But… this isn’t normally true. Here are a number of very good reasons why scheduling regular appointments with us is still significant.:
- Keep track of the status of your hearing loss (making sure it’s not advancing faster than expected).
- To help make sure your devices fit well.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
What should you do when something breaks?
Occasionally, 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.
If your device needs any repairs, or you need a new one, we can help with that.
Want to talk to us about your next pair of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!
