The Hearing Aid – as always, please read the Manufacturer’s Manual or, feel free to contact us for any questions or concerns you may have.
The most common issues affecting the performance of hearing aids is moisture and wax. Although most major manufacturers coat their devices using Nano technology, which will prevent moisture, oils and wax from entering the electronic components, the devices are still prone to having wax clog the sound opening and debris clog the microphone ports.
For this reason, periodic maintenance performed by our hearing professionals is very important in order to keep the devices from malfunctioning or, not working as well as you’d like. It also alerts us if Factory Servicing is required, especially important if still in warranty.
We recommend preventative maintenance be performed every 3-6 months for most of our patients. This would also include an examination of your ear canals as the accumulation of wax, moisture and hairs can affect sound quality and hearing aid performance. Sometimes they begin to cause feedback as the first sign you need servicing. We have found that hearing aids last longer and perform better if properly maintained on a regular basis.
We also recommend women who use hairspray do not wear their hearing aids while spraying and wait a few minutes for the spray to dry before putting their hearing aids in.
Should your hearing aids inadvertently become wet, the first thing is to take out the battery, leave the battery door open, put the appliance in a sealed container of rice or kitty litter. Although there is no guarantee this will bring the device back to life, it is the best you can do as a first step. Then bring them in for servicing at your earliest opportunity.
When you are not using your hearing aids, turn them off by opening the battery lid. It is easier to see they are turned off then.
When putting in new batteries, throw the old ones away first, then take out the new batteries and take the tab off, wait 3-4 minutes for the battery to “power up” before inserting them. Make sure they’re inserted correctly and don’t force the battery lid if it doesn’t close easily. You may have inserted the battery incorrectly, so recheck its position.
Keep your hearing aids and batteries away from children, animals, excessive heat and areas they can easily get damaged or lost in. Use the supplied case to store them in when not in use. Avoid dropping them and do not attempt to perform “self-repairs” which will most likely void any warranty.
For replacing the wax-filters, follow the recommended procedure according to the manufacturer. It is often beneficial to use the towelettes on a regular basis to wipe wax and particles off the area in and around the sound opening. For some people, this may need to be done daily.
For ear canals that become moist, either from showering, bathing or swimming, we recommend 91-95% Alcohol drops, similar to what is used for swimmer’s ears. When certain occluding ear tips are used on hearing aids, moisture tends to be trapped between the tip and the eardrum. This can cause problems with the hearing aid going weak, being intermittent or simply not working. It can also cause various infections in the ear canals, either bacterial or fungal. When this is suspected, medical treatment is usually needed and may require the use of the alcohol drops on a regular, daily basis to help prevent a recurrence of infections.
With regular servicing of your hearing aids and inspection of your ear canals, you will receive a more consistent benefit from your hearing aids. Periodic hearing testing may also be done to monitor for any changes and reprogram the hearing aids accordingly.