How To Clean Your Hearing Aids
We are asked this question all the time because any hearing aid is going to accumulate dust, earwax, and debris due to its placement in the ear, and poor maintenance will always affect its performance.
The immediate and long-term goal is to keep your hearing aids in tip-top shape so you can protect your investment.
Daily Care Of Your Hearing Aids
Your two goals of cleaning your hearing aids every night are to reduce moisture and remove earwax and debris.
Moisture – Open the door of the battery holder to let it dry out at night. Some rechargeable hearing aids come with a moisture removal kit the aids can sit in at night. Wipe any moisture and sweat off the outside of the aid.
Earwax – Wipe off any tiny bits of debris or earwax with a soft cloth so it doesn’t migrate toward the small ports in the hearing aids and block them. You can also brush bits off with a soft toothbrush.
We’ll show you how to change your wax guards and domes if you have them.
Problems When You Don’t Maintain Your Hearing Aids
Unfortunately, hearing aids are not a “set it and forget it” product. When the aids are not cared for properly:
- Hearing aids will stop working if they are blocked with wax and dead skin. Earwax causes 20% to 30% of hearing aid breakdowns.
- Letting moisture sit in a hearing aid can cause corrosion, leading to numerous functioning problems, and the battery or charge can drain faster than is typical.
- Not noticing physical damage can make parts of the hearing aid defective, giving you less-than-optimal performance. Hearing aids can sound
While we offer ongoing support, the only way to ensure your hearing aids perform as expected is to clean them daily and get regular maintenance checks.
The Importance Of Looking After Your Hearing Aids
Your hearing aids should last for at least 4-5 years, but they can last for almost twice that with good care.
Daily cleanings and inspections help prevent earwax and moisture problems. They also make it easier to spot physical damage and defects early, so you can prevent more costly repairs later.
To ensure proper functioning of the aids, get into the habit of cleaning and inspecting your hearing aids early on. Do this daily, and follow the recommended maintenance schedule of your hearing aid and/or hearing care provider.
We recommend you maintain a daily cleaning routine. We instruct patients on the daily care needed and provide cleaning brushes and cloths with every new hearing aid. We also replace them as needed and schedule 4-month appointments for full professional cleanings.
Tell-Tale Signs That Your Hearing Aids Need Attention
You might think your hearing aids are broken when all they need is a deep clean. Your hearing aids need attention if:
- You notice a distorted or weak sound. It sounds plugged up.
- The aids are underperforming or stop working all together.
- The charge isn’t lasting, or the batteries keep dying sooner than expected.
Our professional cleaning, recommended every four months, includes the following:
- We sanitize the hearing aid.
- We remove all debris and dirt in the shell, microphone, receiver, dome, wax spring/guard/filter, vent, tubing, and earmold.
- We clean according to what each brand and model of hearing aid you have, which might include vacuuming the microphone and receiver, placing it in a vacuum chamber to remove moisture, and cleaning vents.
- We replace a wax guard/filter, dome, vent, and/or tube as needed.
- We do a hearing aid conformity check after cleaning it to make sure it’s working as it should.
We are familiar with cleaning most types and brands of hearing aids.
If Your Hearing Aids Aren’t Working Properly
Reach out to us right away. We will get you in and assess what is going on. When possible, we do everything in our offices, but if needed, we will send your aids out to the manufacturer.
We’ll also give you an interim loaner set of hearing aids while your devices are being repaired.
Your hearing aids should always perform the way they are designed to. You’ve invested a lot in having them, and they enhance your independent lifestyle.
If you or a loved one has hearing aids that are not performing as they should and could do with a cleaning or repair, set up a time to drop them off so we can get them working again.
