Your hearing aids should improve your hearing right? When they aren’t working correctly, it can be extremely infuriating, it’s a total “You had ONE job” situation. Fortunately, your hearing aids should have no issue doing their job if you properly maintain them.
Consider this list before you do anything rash. If it’s not one of these common issues, it might be time to schedule an appointment with us to ensure there isn’t a bigger problem. Your hearing may have changed, for instance, or you may need a hearing aid recalibration.
Potential Pitfall: Low Batteries
Hearing aid batteries, while improving in quality, still need to be recharged or replaced occasionally. So keeping up with charging your batteries is important. The first thing you need to do if your hearing aid begins to falter or cut in and out is check the battery.
The fix: Keep ‘em Fresh
A battery tester is a practical investment, particularly if you like to stock up. Batteries have a shelf life so the last batteries in the pack might not have as much voltage as the first few even if you keep them sealed. Another trick: When you open new batteries, wait 5 minutes before putting them in. This gives the zinc time to become active, and can potentially extend the life of the batteries.
Potential Pitfall: Grease, Grime, And Other Gross Stuff
Your hearing aids will gather debris and dirt regardless of how clean you keep your ears and if you have trouble hearing you’re probably more conscientious about earwax. If you can hear but sounds seem distorted or a little off, dirt may be the cause.
The fix: Clean Them Out—And Keep Them Clean!
You can buy a kit for cleaning your hearing aids or you can use things you already have around the house to keep them clean. You can use a microfiber cloth, like the kind you use to clean your computer screen or cellphone, to wipe your hearing aid down after disassembling it.
Simple hygiene practices will go a long way to keeping your hearing aids clean. Clean and dry your hands before you handle your hearing aids, and remove them while you’re doing things, like washing your face, styling your hair, or even shaving, that may put them in danger of being spritzed, sprayed, or splattered.
Potential Pitfall: Trapped Moisture
Even a small amount of moisture can really harm your hearing aid (think working up a sweat, not deep-sea diving). Even humidity in the air can be an issue, clogging up the hearing aid’s air vents or causing batteries to drain faster. Depending on how much moisture’s gotten in, you may experience problems from sound distortion to static, to crackling. They may even appear to quit altogether.
The fix: Keep Them Dry
Keep the battery door open when you store your hearing aid overnight and any longer than that, remove the battery. It takes almost zero effort and guarantees that air can move, and any trapped moisture can escape.
Store hearing aids in a cool, dry place. The bedroom is a practical spot, skip the bathroom or kitchen. Although the latter is convenient, the moisture from a hot shower is specifically what you don’t want. You will likely want to get a hearing aid storage box if you live in an overly humid climate. Most models use a desiccant in the form of a small moisture absorbing packet, but some more expensive versions get rid of moisture with electronics.
None of these are working? It might be time to speak with us.