Quick Fixes for Everyday Hearing Aid Glitches

Your new hearing aids have the potential to significantly enhance your daily experiences, from improving conversations to enriching your enjoyment of hobbies and activities. Like any new device, wearing hearing aids can pose challenges. So, how can you quickly fix these glitches?

Whistling Or Feedback

Whistling or feedback sounds from the environment can be annoying. Fortunately, this problem is often easy to solve. First, try lowering the volume. If the speaker is too loud, the microphone will pick it up, creating a high-pitch drone.

Talk to your audiologist if you need a high volume for your hearing loss. Professionals can recommend devices that can produce louder sounds without feedback. If that doesn’t work, look for earwax buildup. Sometimes, this can cause sound to leak from the speaker and interfere with the microphone. You can also try moving your hearing aids around your ear. Sometimes, the placement of the microphone and speaker can be just in the wrong place, leading to feedback noises.

Sound Distortions

You might also notice your hearing aid developing sound distortions. This occurs when the sounds the speaker makes are different from normal and aren’t quite right. To fix this, check the wax guard. Damage to this component can affect the sound coming from the speaker as it makes its way to your middle ear. Also, look for moisture damage. Getting the speaker wet can cause it to malfunction and prevent it from generating sounds in the normal range.

Lastly, the problem could be purely technical. Using the wrong settings or over-emphasizing some frequencies can cause glitches and sound characteristics to change. Work with your audiologist to adjust the settings to eliminate the problem.

No Sound

No sound at all coming from your hearing aid is a problem. Unfortunately, the causes for this are wide-ranging, so you might need to spend quite a bit of time searching for a fix. First, check the batteries and that the hearing aid is switched on. Cells can eventually die, whether they are rechargeable or not.

If you have alkaline batteries in your hearing aid, you need to replace these every couple of months or so. For lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, swap these out every couple of years if the manufacturer allows it. If that doesn’t work, check the volume setting. Some hearing aids have mute options that cut the sound completely. You can also try cleaning the microphone and receiver with a dry cloth. Getting rid of buildup might help improve the performance of components.

Unfortunately, if none of those quick fixes work, you might have a hardware issue. Hearing aids can fail, especially if exposed to water or chemicals, so think about what could have happened. Ask whether your hearing aids have a problem because of something that happened.

Don’t try opening up and repairing your hearing aids yourself. This could worsen the damage to your hearing aid if it is a physical issues with the components that need replaced. Your audiologist will look at your hearing aid to determine the problem, and fix the issues.