Between hearing aid care and hearing aid batteries, I would say “How do I look after my hearing aids properly?” is one of the top questions we’re asked. It comes up almost at every hearing aid fitting.
I understand why because these are expensive devices, so we want them to last as long as possible.
Common Problems With Neglected Hearing Aids
The biggest problem is not cleaning off hearing aids at the end of every night. Earwax and moisture can wreak havoc on a hearing aid, so those are the top two aspects of cleaning to target every day.
To keep the moisture down on a hearing aid with a battery, open the door and let it dry out at night. Also make sure you wipe all the moisture and earwax off so that you’re not getting your sweat or wax into those little teeny ports and plugging up the hearing aids.
Why Is It Important To Look After Your Hearing Aids?
Hearing aids are quite an investment. You can expect to get about four or five years out of them, but we’ve had people that have prolonged that into the six, seven, or eight year mark by looking after them carefully.
Most warranty periods on hearing aids only last three, sometimes four years, and big repairs can cost a lot. Sometimes it makes more sense to upgrade your hearing aids if the warranty has run out or is about to run out because you’ll be saving money in the long run.
Tell-Tale Signs That Your Hearing Aids Need Attention
Both of the biggest signs have to do with sound output.
- If you’re not getting any sound out of it at all, or it sounds plugged up, you might have too much earwax either in the hearing aid or in your ear. Some people just think their hearing aids are dead and they’re not; they just need a quick cleaning.
- If you can still hear from them but it’s almost like someone’s turned the volume down on you and you haven’t touched it, they’ll need to be looked at.
Daily Hearing Aid Care Tips
Use a toothbrush to brush down all the sides of the hearing aid every night. We show you how to do that and how to change your wax guards and domes – if you have them.
Air them out at night and wipe them down with a Kleenex or a soft cloth. That usually gets a lot of the debris and stuff out of the small ports, preventing problems later on.
Your cleaning routine depends on the type of hearing aids you have.
- If you have custom, in-the-ear hearing aids, then yes, wiping them down and looking in your wax card or wax basket are very important. Check inside it to make sure you change it if it’s full of wax.
- If you have a receiver or behind-the-ear type of hearing aid, again, wipe it down and make sure to open those battery doors to keep it free of moisture buildup.
- If you have a rechargeable hearing aid, but there’s no battery door to open it, most of these come with a little dehumidifying puck in it that will draw out the moisture. It’s very important to keep on top of those as well.
We look also over the hearing aid here and then use one of the several options people at home don’t have to do a deeper clean.
We have a very powerful dehumidifier that can suck out a lot of the moisture, and we also have a very small vacuum that’s great at getting into those tiny receiver and microphone ports and getting the wax and debris out.
Next Steps
If you or your loved one has hearing aids that require some TLC, try the cleaning steps mentioned above first. If that doesn’t fix it, book a quick appointment and come in so we can give it a deep clean. It’s part of your hearing aid package with us, and we’re always happy to see you.
And feel free to contact your nearest location in Kitchener, Guelph, Simcoe, or Waterloo with any questions.
