It’s a tough pill to swallow, for many, dealing with and acknowledging the truth of hearing loss. Nevertheless, you soldiered on and went to a hearing professional for a hearing aid fitting appointment, because you knew that’s what is best for your health. Most likely, you quickly realized the advantages one receives from wearing a hearing aid, including the ability to deal with tinnitus, hear speech (even amidst the din of background noise), and the potential to recover from mental decline.

But occasionally, among all those life-changing advantages, you get one loud, piercing and shrieking downside. You get a loud squealing noise from your hearing aids. Feedback is the more common word for this whistling. It’s just like what happens to a sound system when you bring a microphone too close, but it’s directly in your ears. Fortunately for you, this is a problem you can fix relatively easily. Stopping your hearing aid from whistling can be accomplished using the following suggestions:

1. The Way Your Hearing Aid Fits Can be Adjusted

The positioning of the hearing aid in your ear or the earmold it’s connected to is probably the most prevalent reason for feedback. The sound can get out and reverberate through the microphone of the hearing aid if it doesn’t fit right. The consequences of that leakage can be a whistling that’s either intermittent or constant, depending on how much sound has escaped and how poorly the fit actually is. With some hearing aid designs, a plastic tube will connect the actual device with the earmold. In time, the earmold can become unseated from its proper position due to shrinking, cracking and hardening. This movement can cause squealing, but you can improve the problem by replacing the plastic piece.

2. Get Rid of Excessive Earwax

Earwax is actually good for our bodies, even though, ironically, we usually think of it as unwanted or even nasty. This gooey compound acts as a defense against irritants such as dirt and prevents them from entering our ears. Actions, such as talking or chewing help your ears limit the amount of earwax they generate but there can be a negative effect if too much earwax accumulates. When you insert a hearing aid on top of an excessive amount of earwax, you’re bound to get feedback. This is because the amplified sound has nowhere to go because of the blockage from the wax. With no clear place to go, the sound circles and passes through the microphone once more. There are a few ways to eliminate an overabundance of wax from your ears like letting a warm shower run into your ears. However, the best idea could be to make an appointment with a hearing specialist about correctly cleaning your ears to prevent undue accumulation and subsequent whistling.

3. Make Certain The Microphone is Uncovered

Often the most apparent solution is the most effective. Have you ever noticed someone trying to take a picture which didn’t come out, only to find that the lens cap was still on? With hearing aids the same thing can occur. Whistling can happen when something is covering the device. You could even get the same outcome by covering the microphone with your hand or another object, like if you give someone a hug and bury your ear into their shoulder. Uncovering the hearing aid should suffice in fixing the problem.

Here’s a bonus tip: A new hearing aid might be the best choice. Some causes for worry are being alleviated by modern hearing aid models and manufacturers are developing new technology all of the time. Give us a call if you are interested in checking out new hearing aid technology or if you are having trouble with your current hearing aids whistling.