It probably feels like a simple thing to care for your hearing aids. After all, you were likely given a set of care guidelines when you initially purchased your devices. Most hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step how-to in regard to routine hearing aid maintenance. But it’s quite likely that you may forget some of that information that you got all at once. 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 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 work better longer.
Tip #1: Keep your hearing aids dry
Moisture and electronics don’t really jive. Although your hearing aids may offer a certain amount of water resistance, you typically want to keep moisture away from them. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- Find a cool and dry 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 won’t be a very good place to keep your hearing aids. And in order to keep track of your hearing aids, keep them in the same spot every day. By the same token, don’t leave your hearing aids just lying about, dogs like to eat them and cats like to play with them!
- When you’re wearing your hearing aids, avoid using hair care products. When you’re going to use hair spray or gel, remove your hearing aids. These kinds of products can really gunk up your devices.
- When it’s humid outdoors, run a dehumidifier. When it’s really humid, your hearing aids can have more moisture than you would want even indoors. And that dampness can compromise the delicate electronics inside. If you want to get the most life out of your hearing aid as you can, get that dehumidifier running!
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
Earwax production is a normal and healthy thing for the human body to do. It’s also something that hearing aid manufacturers recognize is going to happen. As a result, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
It’s up to you to make sure there’s not too much earwax on your hearing aids. This means inspecting and replacing the wax guards when necessary (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning schedule). Depending on what model hearing aid you have, you can get specialized little tools for this and we can assist you with that.
How often should wax guards be swapped? You will change these wax guards approximately once every month on most models.
Tip #3: Take care of the batteries
Your Hearing aids count on your batteries for power. The healthier your hearing aid batteries are, the longer your hearing aid will last. The following are some tips for battery care:
- When you’re not using your hearing aids, don’t forget to switch the power off. Otherwise, your battery will just sit there and drain. 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. If they are dirty or wet, you can use a clean, dry cloth to wipe them. This is yet another part of your device where moisture is the enemy.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: This will save you lots of money on wasted batteries.
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 you need to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all kinds of offending substances. Your hearing aids are delicate devices by design, so crumbs aren’t really great for them.
It’s essential that you don’t touch 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
You may think that you won’t require any help from us once you’ve purchased your hearing aids. In most cases, though, this isn’t the situation. Here are a few very good reasons why scheduling regular appointments with us is still significant.:
- To help you fine-tune your fit.
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
- Keep track of the status of your hearing loss (making certain it’s not advancing quicker than expected).
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 situations such as this.
If your device needs any repairs, or you need a new one, we can help with that.
Want to speak with us about your next set of hearing aids? Make an appointment today!