Your hearing aids should improve your hearing right? When they aren’t working correctly, it can be thoroughly infuriating, it’s a total “You had ONE job” situation. The good news is, with regular upkeep, your hearing aids should be up to the job.
Before you do anything drastic, look at this list. It may be time to come in and see us if you find it’s not one of these ordinary issues. Your hearing may have changed, for example, or you might need a hearing aid recalibration.
Potential Pitfall: Low Batteries
Hearing aid batteries, while improving in quality, still need to be recharged or replaced sometimes. So keeping up with charging your batteries is crucial. The first thing you need to do if your hearing aid begins to fail 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 may not have the same voltage as the first few even if you keep them sealed. Another trick: When you unpack new batteries, wait 5 minutes before putting them in. This can help the batteries last longer by allowing the zinc to activate.
Potential Pitfall: Grease, Grime, And Other Gross Stuff
No matter how clean you keep your ears, and if you have a tough time hearing, you’re much more likely than the average individual to pay attention to earwax, your hearing aids are going to gather debris and dirt. You may find yourself with a dirt issue if sounds seem a little off or distorted.
The fix: Clean ‘em Out—And Keep Them Clean!
There are plenty of products available specifically for cleaning hearing aids, but you can DIY it with items you already have around the house. 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 really help with keeping your hearing aids clean. Clean and dry your hands before you handle your hearing aids, and remove them while you’re doing things, such as washing up, styling your hair, or even shaving, that might put them in danger of being spritzed, sprayed, or splashed.
Potential Pitfall: Trapped Moisture
Moisture can wreak havoc on hearing aids, and it doesn’t take much to do so (think working up a sweat, not deep-sea diving). The vent in the hearing aid and the battery can even be effected by humidity in the air. Depending on how much moisture’s entered, 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, take the battery out. Any captured moisture will be able to evaporate and air will be able to flow with very little effort on your part.
Store hearing aids in a cool, dry spot. Don’t store them in the kitchen or bathroom. Storing them in the bathroom might seem convenient but moisture is just too much. If you live in a humid environment, you might want to consider getting a hearing aid storage box. Most models use a desiccant in the form of a small moisture absorbing packet, but some more costly versions remove moisture with electronics.
If you’ve tried all of these and none of them are helping then it may be time for you to give us a call.