Cleaning and Maintaining Hearing Aids

How to Clean and Maintain Your Hearing Aid

Hearing aids are incredible pieces of technology, transforming the lives of so many people with hearing impairments. However, in order for you to ensure your hearing aid can provide optimal performance and comfort, it's essential to clean and maintain it properly. 

In this guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know to keep your hearing aid in top shape.

The Importance of Hearing Aid Maintenance

Before we dive into the specifics of cleaning and maintaining your hearing aid, it is crucial to understand why these tasks are so important.

Proper maintenance not only extends the life of your device but also ensures that it continues to deliver the best possible sound quality. 

When maintenance and cleaning are neglected it can lead to a variety of issues. These not only include reduced effectiveness and the potential need for costly repairs but also physical discomfort, ear wax build-up and an increased chance of ear infections.

Daily Cleaning Routine

To help you maintain your hearing aid, it is best establish a daily cleaning routine. This routine can be quick and easy so that it becomes part of your daily habits. 

Here are some steps you can follow:

• Wash Your Hands: Always start with clean hands to prevent transferring dirt and oils to your hearing aid.

• Inspect for Debris: Check your hearing aid for any visible debris or wax buildup. If you notice any, carefully remove it with a soft, dry cloth or brush. Your audiologist may be able to provide suitable equipment and, if not, will be able to recommend them for you.

• Replace the Wax Filter: Depending on your hearing aid model, you may have a wax filter that needs regular replacement. Ask your Audiologist if you are not sure and for guidance on how regularly this will need to be done for your particular model.

  Here is a video example of how to change a wax filter on a phonak hearing aid:

  How to change the CeruShield wax filter of receiver - YouTube

• Open the Battery Compartment: If your hearing aid uses disposable batteries, open the compartment and ensure there's no moisture or corrosion.

• Wipe Down the Device: Gently wipe the exterior of the hearing aid with a soft, dry cloth or tissue to remove any residue or oils.

• Check for Damage: Inspect the hearing aid for any visible damage, like cracks or loose parts. If you notice anything, contact your audiologist for repairs.

Weekly Cleaning Routine

In addition to your daily cleaning routine, a more thorough weekly cleaning routine is essential to maintain your hearing aid's longevity and performance. 

Here's what you should do weekly:

• Remove the Earpiece: If your hearing aid has an earpiece or earmold, remove it for a more thorough clean and check thoroughly for any signs of damage.

• Soak the Earmold: If your hearing aid uses an earmold remove it from the tubing and soak it in warm (not hot), soapy water for a few minutes. Rinse it thoroughly and allow it to air dry.

• Clean the Sound Port: Use a hearing aid cleaning brush to clean the sound port, ensuring it's free from wax and debris. Again this is something your audiologist should be able to provide or, at least, advise on. 

• Inspect the tubing: If your hearing aid has tubing, inspect it for any visible blockages or damage. If you see any issues, consult your audiologist.

General Tips for Hearing Aid Care

Here are some additional tips to bear in mind to help you care for your hearing aid and protect its longevity:

• Store Your Hearing Aid: When you're not wearing your hearing aid, store it in a dry, cool place, away from dust, dirt, direct sunlight and moisture.

• Avoid Excessive Heat and Moisture: Never expose your hearing aid to extreme heat, like leaving it in a hot car, or to excessive moisture, such as wearing it in the shower or while swimming.

• Keep Extra Supplies: Make sure you have extra batteries, wax filters, and cleaning tools on hand, so you're prepared for any unexpected issues.

• Regular Check-ups: Schedule regular appointments with your audiologist for professional cleaning and maintenance, ideally at least once a year. They can address any concerns and ensure your hearing aid is in top condition.

By following these simple cleaning and maintenance routines, you can keep your device in optimal condition, prolong its life, and enjoy the best possible hearing experience. But don’t be afraid to ask your audiologist to show you how to carry out any of these tasks or for more advice. You should view them as your partner in ensuring your hearing aid continues to serve you in the best way possible. 

If you’d like to book an appointment to discuss your hearing aid requirements or how to look after your hearing aids, then contact us here

 If you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to your audiologist. They are your partners in ensuring your hearing aid continues to serve you well.

What to expect with a new hearing aid (and why it won’t work straight away).

Did you know that hearing aids aren’t an instantaneous fix? That they don’t instantly fix your hearing loss as soon as they’re turned on? Not many people do!

The fact is, whilst hearing aids are absolutely life-changing for many people, their full effect can take a while to kick in. Your brain has taken its time to adapt to your hearing loss, now it needs to re-learn to interpret the signals from your hearing aid, and the hearing aid needs to gather data about the environments you experience so it can adapt accordingly. 

What should you expect with your new hearing aid?

When you have a new hearing aid fitted it can be quite an unusual experience at first. After being used to the reduced range of sounds accessible to you before, this range suddenly increases and the kind of noise you can hear changes. 

This is often experienced as echoing or sharp noises, which can be unpleasant or uncomfortable. It’s really important to not be disheartened if this happens for you though as it won’t last and there are things your audiologist can do to help reduce them in the meantime. 

This period of getting used to your new hearing aid and waiting for the full benefit to emerge is called acclimatisation. 

Does everyone have the same experience? 

Everyone’s experience will be different when they get a new hearing aid depending on their type and severity of hearing loss, as well as the style and quality of their new equipment. 

For example, if your hearing loss is caused by the natural wear and tear of the hairs in your ear that occur as we age (presbycusis) you’ll usually still be able to hear the lower bass frequencies as the higher frequencies diminish first.  This means that, due to dome-fit and custom-fit hearing aids completely filling the width of the ear canal, you may initially struggle to hear the tones you could clearly at first. 

When this issue is combined with the effect of the electronic receiver of your new hearing aid, it can commonly cause an echo type feeling to occur. 

The quality of the technology used in your hearing aid will also impact how long it takes you to acclimatise to your new hearing aid. A higher quality, premium hearing aid will often be able to adapt to different environments and situations more efficiently and more effectively than a lower quality one. This means that it will automatically be able to recognise when you are in a noisy environment and suppress the background noise for you better than a lower end product. 

Plus, higher end hearing aids have the ability for your audiologist to be able to find further room for improvement by fine-tuning the different frequencies they offer (often called Channels in hearing aid jargon!). 

What can my audiologist do to help me? 

Having regular follow-ups with your audiologist is important through the acclimatisation period, as they can help you with the transition. They will not only be able to give you advice on the model and make that will suit your hearing loss and lifestyle, but will be able to fine-tune the equipment to your personal requirements. 

In some cases, this may mean switching to a different hearing aid or even trying a few until you get the best result. For this reason, we offer free hearing aid trials. It can be really helpful and reassuring to have the freedom to try out as many different hearing aids as you need until you find the one that’s the perfect fit for you. 

Not all hearing aid dispensers offer free trials and some are contractually tied to specific hearing aid brands which means they will be limited to what technology they can offer you, so it’s worth shopping around a bit before choosing one to go to. 

As an independent hearing aid supplier, we’re able to offer a completely unbiased approach to finding you the right hearing aid based on your type of hearing loss, lifestyle, budget and personal preference. Plus, due to Kareem’s background in music and sound engineering we’re able to offer a level of understanding about audio that many others can’t.

(Not to toot our own horn!)

What should I do to help myself acclimatise to my new hearing aid?

The most important thing for you to do  is to be patient and be positive. The mindset that you approach this with really will make a difference to how well and how quickly you acclimatise to wearing your new hearing aid. 

As you are effectively teaching your brain to hear again, using your new technology practice makes perfect. Ideally you should wear the hearing aid for as many hours as you can each day as consistency will help retrain your brain as quickly as possible. 

It may feel strange or uncomfortable, or even disheartening, while you get used to your new hearing aid, but it will ultimately be worth sticking with it! 

When you cut to the chase, hearing aid acclimatisation is a balancing act between your patience and ability to persevere, and your audiologist’s ability to make the hearing aid as comfortable and effective as possible. It’s not always going to be a quick and easy process, but once you are through to the other end of it, you’ll be glad you made it. 

If you’d like a free trial of some different manufacturers or styles of hearing aids that you may not have tried before, such as Resound’s custom rechargeable hearing aids, then get in touch by clicking this link.