It probably feels like a simple thing to take care of your hearing aids. When you first obtained your hearing aids, you probably got a set of care instructions, after all. In regard to routine hearing aid maintenance, the majority of hearing specialists will give you a step-by-step instruction tutorial. 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 schedule look like? What about my service schedule? How can I get the most life out of my hearing aids?
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 do well with wetness. While your hearing aids might provide a certain amount of water resistance, you typically want to keep them dry. Here are a few ways to do just that:
- When you have your hearing aids in your ears, avoid using hair care products. When you’re going to utilize hair spray or gel, take out your hearing aids. Your hearing aid can really become gunked up from these types of products.
- When it’s humid outdoors, run a dehumidifier. Even inside, high humidity means your hearing aids might be more moist more often. And the delicate electronics inside of your device can be compromised. If you want to get the most life out of your hearing aid as possible, get that dehumidifier going!
- Store your hearing aids somewhere cool and dry. Many people wonder what the best way to store hearing aids is. So the steamy bathroom isn’t going to 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 around, dogs like to eat them and cats love to play with them!
Tip #2: Keep the earwax filters nice and clean
The human body normally generates earwax in a healthy way. It’s also something that hearing aid makers recognize is going to happen. As a result, most hearing aids are designed to deal with a modest amount of earwax.
Your task is to be certain your hearing aids don’t become overloaded with ear wax. This means checking and replacing the wax guards when necessary (and making that part of your hearing aid cleaning program). You can invest in and utilize special cleaning tools for this, depending on what model you have (ask us for recommendations here).
How frequently should wax guards be replaced? Well, for the majority of models, it will be around once every month or so.
Tip #3: care for the batteries
Your Hearing aids rely on your batteries for power. Your hearing aid will last a lot longer if you keep your batteries fresh. So there are several battery-care steps you can take:
- Remember to switch 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 stop working when you really need them.
- Be sure 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 electronics in general, moisture will result in a bad outcome here.
- Get a battery charger or a rechargeable hearing aid: That way, you won’t be chucking batteries (and money) away again and again .
Tip #4: Only use clean hands to handle your devices
Most of the time, your hearing aids should be in your ears. But they depend on you to put them in. Your hands (which are required in order to handle your hearing aids) could be covered in all kinds of offending materials. By design, hearing aids are really delicate and likely won’t do well with things like crumbs.
It’s important that you don’t handle your hearing aids with dirty hands. So give your hands a quick wash before you have to take them out and handle them.
Tip #5 Keep up with your hearing specialist
It might feel like, once you purchase your hearing aids, you can just forget all about your hearing specialist. But… this is not typically true. Most individuals who have hearing loss will want to schedule routine appointments with us for the following reasons:
- To help you fine-tune your fit.
- Check the status of your hearing loss (making certain it’s not progressing quicker than expected).
- To clean and maintain your hearing aids.
When something breaks, what should you do?
Occasionally, despite your best efforts, something goes wrong with your hearing aids (perhaps you accidentally step on them). When this occurs, you should get in touch with us as quickly as you can.
We will be able to help you fix your devices, or get new ones if necessary.
Want to talk to us about your next pair of hearing aids? Schedule an appointment today!
