Do’s and Don’ts of Hearing Aid Maintenance

Hearing aids are an essential tool that you use every day to help you interpret the world around you. But, just like most electronic devices, hearing aids need to be looked after well to perform at their best over the long term. If you don’t maintain your hearing aids properly, you could end up having to replace them, which is expensive.

Take a look at the following “do’s and don’ts” of hearing aid maintenance.

Do clean them regularly

Hearing aids need to be cleaned regularly to keep them performing optimally. If you don’t clean them daily, then the speaker and microphone ports can become gunked up with earwax and other detritus, leading to a loss of performance. Ideally, you should clean your hearing aids with the manufacturer-supplied cleaning kit. The makers of hearing aids often provide specialist cleaning tools to ensure that you clean your device effectively.

Don’t wear your hearing aids in the shower

Moisture can get into hearing aids and damage the sensitive internal components. You wouldn’t use your phone in the shower, so you don’t want to wear your hearing aids while using the bathroom either.

It’s also a good idea to leave your hearing aids outside of the bathroom in a low humidity environment. Steam from the shower can get into the sensitive internal components and damage them.

Do keep your hearing aids away from children and pets

Children and pets can easily damage hearing aids. Often, they don’t know what they are or understand that they need to be treated gently. Instead of leaving your hearing aids lying around on the counter or table, store them in a pet- and child-proof box. Dogs will regularly eat hearing aids.

Don’t wear your hearing aids while using hairspray

Just like wax, tiny particles in hairspray may clog up the sensitive external ports of your hearing aid, such as the microphone and speaker. Cleaning up hairspray residue is also tricky, making restoring your hearing aids to their former function all the more challenging.

Do put your hearing aids in a drying device before bed

Hearing aid drying devices are special units that gradually remove any moisture that may have accumulated in the hearing aid. Most people place their hearing aids in a drying device overnight as that is the most convenient time to do so.

Don’t handle your hearing aid while you have dirty hands

Oil or dirt from your finger can easily get into the crevices of your hearing aid, causing damage to the internals. Oil is particularly hard to remove, so make sure your hands are clean before removing or handling your assistive hearing devices.

Do clean your earmold and tube

Occasionally you’ll need to remove the earmold and tube to clean them. Most hearing aids have an earmold — a section that is contoured to the shape of your ear. And some behind-the-ear (BTE) models have a connecting tube that runs from the part that hangs from the back of the ear to the components inside the ear canal. If you need additional help, speak to a hearing health professional.