Your hearing aids should help you hear better right? When they aren’t working properly, it can be extremely infuriating, it’s a total “You had ONE job” scenario. Luckily, your hearing aids should have no problem doing their job if you properly maintain them.
Go over this list before you do anything hasty. If it’s not one of these common issues, it might be time to schedule an appointment with us to make sure there isn’t a bigger issue. Your hearing might have changed, for example, or you may need a hearing aid recalibration.
Potential Pitfall: Low Batteries
Hearing aid batteries, while improving in quality, still require recharging and replacing occasionally. So staying on top of charging your batteries is important. The first thing you should 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 worthwhile investment, especially if you like to stock up. Even if you keep batteries sealed until you need to use them, always a good idea, they have a limited shelf life, and so the last batteries in that giant pack you purchased months ago likely won’t hold a charge as long as the first few did. Another trick: When you open new batteries, wait 5 minutes before installing them. This can help extend the battery life by allowing the zinc to become active.
Potential Pitfall: Gross Things Like Wax And Grime
Regardless of how clean you keep your ears, and if you have a hard time hearing, you’re a lot more likely than the average individual to pay attention to earwax, your hearing aids are going to gather dirt and debris. If you can hear but sounds seem distorted or somewhat off, dirt may be the cause.
The fix: Clean Them Out—And Keep Them Clean!
You can get a kit for cleaning your hearing aids or you can use things you already have around the house to clean them. 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. Whenever you do something that calls for liquid or moisture, like cleaning your face or styling your hair, take your hearing aids out and make certain your hands aren’t wet when handling them.
Potential Pitfall: Trapped Moisture
Moisture can wreak havoc on hearing aids, and it doesn’t take very much to do so (you don’t need to be underwater, even sweating can be problematic). The vent in the hearing aid and the battery can even be impacted by humidity in the air. Depending on how much moisture’s entered, you could experience problems from sound distortion to static, to crackling. They might even seem to quit altogether.
The fix: Keep Them Dry
Make sure that when you store your hearing aids, the battery door is open; and if you’re storing them for longer than 24 hours, take out the batteries entirely. It takes almost zero effort and ensures that air can circulate, and any captured moisture can escape.
Store hearing aids in a cool, dry place. Don’t keep them in the kitchen or bathroom. Storing them in the bathroom might seem convenient but there’s just too much moisture. If you live in a humid climate, you may want to consider purchasing a hearing aid storage box. More expensive versions plug in, but less expensive models use desiccants or gels (yes, like those “throw away do not eat” packets you find in the box when you buy a pair of shoes) to take in moisture.
If you’ve tried all of these and none of them are helping then it might be time for a consultation with us.