A Complete Care Guide for Your Hearing Aids

When you need to wear hearing aids, you must care for them to ensure the best performance and longevity from each device. Hearing aids get exposed to all kinds of environments, and without proper care, they won’t work efficiently.

Your audiologist will have undoubtedly given you information on how to care for your hearing aids. But, if you’ve mislaid those instructions or have simply forgotten, this handy guide will tell you everything you need to know about caring for your hearing aids.

What Can Cause Problems for Hearing Aids?

Moisture is undoubtedly one of the leading causes of hearing aid problems. That’s because they can get wet when exposed to rain, and moisture can even occur due to the design of some hearing aids themselves, such as in-the-ear (ITE) styles.

If your hearing aids get wet during the day, put them somewhere warm to dry in the evening before going to bed. The air in your home will naturally dry them out; alternatively, you can put them near a dehumidifier to dry during the day.

Another factor that can make hearing aids less efficient in their operation is ear wax. As you know, ears naturally produce ear wax each day. When you wear hearing aids, it’s essential to clean your ears before putting on your hearing aids.

Lastly, dirt and makeup are two more issues for hearing aids. Dirt and makeup powder can clog up each hearing aid’s tiny internal components, so regular cleaning of your hearing aids will keep such build-up to a minimum.

How to Correctly Store Your Hearing Aids

When you’re not using your hearing aids, it makes sense to store them somewhere safe, like your case or drying set. If they are wet, you need to dry them out first before storage by leaving them on an undisturbed surface or by a dehumidifier.

You should also remove the batteries from them each night before you store them to ensure their longevity.

How to Clean Your Hearing Aids

Your audiologist will recommend a cleaning product for your hearing aids, but apart from that, you should use a soft, lint-free cloth to clean the various components.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) Hearing Aids

Wipe down the external elements (the shell and speaker unit) of your BTE hearing aids with a cloth. You should also do this each night as part of your storage routine before you go to bed.

Next, you’ll need to clean the tubes and earmolds, again with a cloth. You should also use a special cleaning tool for these components; it will have been included with your hearing aids, but you can purchase them from your audiologist.

ITE Hearing Aids

The process for cleaning ITE hearing aids is similar to cleaning BTE styles; you use a soft cloth for the external shell. You must also use a special cleaning brush for the sound outlet and ventilation holes.

Incorporating a regular care process into your daily or nightly routine will ensure your hearing aids last long and perform at their best at all times.