4 Tips to Maintain Your Hearing Aids

Hearing aids can provide you with exceptional improvements in your overall health and lifestyle. However, they are also incredibly delicate pieces of technology that require a reasonable amount of maintenance to keep up their high performance. Ultimately, if you are investing a significant sum of money in a hearing aid, you need to know how to take care of it. Here are some audiologist tips on how to maintain your hearing aid.

Every day cleaning

Cleaning regularly on a daily basis plays a vital role in the effectiveness and hygiene of your hearing aid. You should see your cleaning process as similar to brushing your teeth – it’s something you just do, no matter what the circumstances. The ear produces huge quantities of wax, is a magnet for dirt and dust, and can be a home for nasty bacteria if it isn’t cleaned. Over time the blockages can cause distortions to the sounds you hear and also infections if you aren’t using a sanitizer.

Everyday ear hygiene

As we mentioned in the previous paragraph, ear hygiene is vital for making sure your hearing aid is working well – but it’s worth drilling down further into this issue. Earwax is vital for the health of your ears, but many people need to see their audiologist when they first start to wear hearing aids due to overproduction. It’s a common issue, so make sure you are keeping your ears as clean as possible, or it could wreak havoc on your hearing aid.

Power and performance

Hearing aids are battery operated, so you need to check the power levels on a regular basis. It’s worth investing in a battery tester that you can use every morning, to ensure your hearing is crystal clear for the whole day ahead. Be wary of storing your batteries in the right place, too. Overnight, you should completely shut down your hearing aid and keep them in a dry and cool place, preferably with the battery doors open to ensure maximum performance.

Care and attention

Given that hearing aids are such delicate instruments, you need to be exceptionally careful when putting them in and taking them out. One simple drop onto a hard surface can be all it takes to damage your aid, and it won’t be a cheap fix. To prevent issues, always use a soft surface or place a towel over a table to reduce the chances of breaking your aid. You should also avoid putting your hearing aid in while leaning over a sink or bathtub – you might end up losing it down the drain.

Hearing aids will make your life easier, but they deserve a lot of care and attention in return. Many people visit their audiologist for some of these common issues outlined above, so make sure that you are keeping tabs on its performance. And don’t forget – even when you look after your equipment perfectly, it will still require a professional clean once or twice a year. As long as you keep up to date with this maintenance schedule, you have a great chance of your hearing aid enjoying a long life.