Hearing Aid Maintenance

Tips for Maintaining Your Hearing Aids:

Handle your hearing aids with care

Even though most modern hearing aids are strong and durable, it is still important that you handle them with care. Each time that you hold a hearing aid, insert it, remove it, or clean it, use a secure grip. This will ensure that you don’t drop it. Wipe the hearing aid with a soft, dry cloth.

Don’t immerse your hearing aid in water

It’s important that you also don’t fully submerge it in water. Although most hearing aids are water resistant, that doesn’t mean you should wear them when you shower, swim, or take a bath. Never use water to clean your hearing aids. Please note that if moisture comes into contact with the inner components of your hearing aids, it could cause serious (and perhaps even permanent) damage to the devices. Also remove your hearing aids before getting into a hot tub or steam room.  Do not use a hairdryer or any other high-heat device to dry your hearing aids, as this can cause components to distort, melt, or stop functioning properly.

Store your hearing aids in a safe, dry space

When you take your hearing aids out each night, store them in a clean, dry space. Store your hearing aids in the open air overnight, and leave the battery doors open to prevent moisture from building up. Additionally, choose a secure location for your hearing aid storage so that the devices aren’t accidentally pushed, smashed, or dropped. This is especially important if you have small children or pets who can easily cause damage to your hearing aids.

Regularly clean off earwax and replace the wax filter

Although earwax (also known as cerumen) plays an important role in the health of your ear, it doesn’t work well with electronic devices like hearing aids. In fact, it can decrease the performance of your hearing aids if it builds up around your devices. In order to avoid earwax accumulation on the hearing aid, we recommend that you clean your hearing aids at the end of each day. Use a dry cotton swab or a soft toothbrush to clean away earwax, oil, moisture, and any other debris that has accumulated on them. Make sure to pay attention to the receiver and microphone when cleaning your devices. Additionally, always make sure that you frequently change the wax filter in your hearing aids, which protects the internal components of the devices from earwax damage. Replace the filter whenever you spot earwax build-up on it and be sure that you use the correct type of wax filter for your device.