Hearing Aid Maintenance
After your worthwhile investment into your hearing aid, you must protect your hearing helper with constant hearing aid maintenance. Maintaining your hearing aid will make a huge impact on the lasting hearing aid technology, plus the usability of the unit. Failing to properly maintain a hearing aid is the biggest factor in longevity, and it is up to you to take care of it.
How to Maintain a Hearing Aid
Test Your Hearing Aid Daily
Before equipping yourself with your hearing aid, take a second and make sure that everything is sounding as it should. In order to get the clearest sense as to the functionality of your hearing aid, you must remove the rubberized molding and listen through your hearing aid stethoscope. Test each of the key sound structures such as "s", "sh", "eeee", "mm", and “puh” and make sure that you enunciate the syllables that are stressed. If it sounds the way you normally hear, then the first step of hearing aide maintenance is done!
Check Your Hearing Aid Batteries
The hearing aid batteries can cause a malfunction right when the hearing aid is powered on. To make sure they are functioning properly, take out the batteries and inspect them, as well as the compartment. What you should be looking for is rust or corrosion. These signs, as well as loose or broken connections, will cause your hearing aid to buzz, lose power, and deliver a weak amplification signal. Moisture from water, sweat, or humid conditions are the main causes of corrosion inside the batter door. The easiest remedy to combat rust is to use an alcohol-dipped cotton swab and rub the rusty areas until they are clean. Make sure that no alcohol leaks into the interior of the hearing aid.
Condensation and Hearing Aids
When moisture forms inside of your hearing device, the condensation can block the passage of sound completely. Inspect your hearing device for tiny droplets of water in and around crevices. If there seems to be moisture, use a blowing apparatus to release the moisture’s hold and dry your hearing aid. The hooks of the hearing device should also be inspected for moisture and cleaned on an as-needed basis.
Remove Your Hearing Aid Before Bed
It is very important to remove your hearing aid each night before you retire to bed. It is also the simplest hearing aid maintenance that you can do. Doing so will keep nighttime buildup from dirtying the hearing device. The rubber molding should be detached and wiped down, as well as the part that wraps around your ear (if applicable). This method will also keep your ear healthy and cleaner in the process.
