Caring for your hearing aids probably feels easy enough. When you first got your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care instructions, after all. With regard to routine hearing aid maintenance, the majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. But it’s very likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. So you might still have questions like, how frequently should I clean my hearing aid? Or, how often should I have my hearing aid serviced? How can I make my hearing aids last as long as I can?
These five, simple-to-follow tips can help give you some answers, as well as simple ways to help in taking care of your hearing aids so they function better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Hearing aids are slightly water resistant but are by no means waterproof, so they should be kept as dry as possible. Beyond the obvious, this means you need to do things like the following:
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, avoid using hair care products. When you’re going to utilize hair spray or gel, remove your hearing aids. These types of products can really gunk up your devices.
- When it’s humid outdoors, run a dehumidifier. When it’s extremely humid, your hearing aids can have more moisture than you would want even inside. And the fragile electronics inside of your device will be damaged. If you want to get the most life out of your hearing aid as possible, get that dehumidifier running!
- Find a dry and cool place to store your hearing aids when you aren’t using them. Many individuals question what the best way to store hearing aids is. So the steamy bathroom isn’t going to be a great place to keep 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 around.
Tip #2: Check (and clean) those earwax filters
Earwax production is a healthy and normal thing for the human body to do. Hearing aid makers are well aware of this. The majority of modern hearing aids have features that are created to manage a modest earwax production.
It’s up to you to make sure there isn’t too much earwax on your hearing aids. So make changing out your wax guard, when needed, 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.
What is the replacement schedule for earwax guards? You will swap these wax guards about once every month on most models.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
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:
- Invest in a rechargeable device or a battery charger: That way, you won’t be throwing batteries (and money) away over and over again.
- Be certain all of the battery contacts and components are dry. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. As with most electronics, moisture will lead to a bad time here.
- Don’t forget to shut off your hearing aids when you aren’t wearing them. Otherwise, your battery will just sit there and drain. And that means your hearing aids might quit working when you really need them.
Tip #4: Wash your hands before handling your hearing aids
The majority of the time, your hearing aids should be in your ears. But they depend on you to put them in. You use your fingers to put your hearing aids in, and those fingers could contain all sorts of things (salt, maple syrup, Cheeto dust, and so on). Your hearing aids are delicate 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 cleanse.
Tip #5 Keep us in the loop
It may seem like, once you have your hearing aids, you can leave your hearing specialist in the dust. In most cases, though, this isn’t the case. Here are a number of very good reasons why scheduling routine appointments with us is still significant.:
- To track and monitor the advancement of your hearing loss.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- To help you ensure your devices fit well.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Sometimes, 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 such as this.
If your device requires any repairs, or you need to get a new one, we can help with that.
Schedule an appointment with us today to talk about your current or next set of hearing aids.
