Hearing loss can occur to anyone at any point in their life. Whenever a person falls victim to hearing loss problems, it heavily affects their way of life, and they find a really hard time communicating with other people. In fact, they face problems in doing anything that requires their hearing ability. Hearing loss problems can be of various types, and most of these types are permanent.
Permanent hearing loss problems can’t be fully treated, so a person has to live with this problem for the rest of their life. Instead of conventional treatment, they have to resort to using hearing aids, which help them listen better and take care of their hearing health. Hearing aids are really important for a person with hearing loss problems, as they rely on these devices in communicating with other people, and everything else that requires them to listen to sounds. In fact, hearing aids become a constant part of their life.
Like all other devices, hearing aids also need some maintenance. If you keep using a certain device regularly, it requires a certain level of care and attention from you. No matter whatever device you use, you need to take proper care of it as it can get damaged and stop working without proper maintenance. The same thing applies to hearing aids too, in fact, hearing aids need even more care as you put them inside your ears, so the hearing aids work in a highly adverse condition. So, they can get damaged even more quickly than other devices if you don’t take care of them properly.
And most importantly, as you use them inside your ears, it is also important for your health to keep them clean and properly maintained. Otherwise, it can cause problems in your ears too. So, make sure to conduct proper maintenance for your hearing aids, and here are some things that you can do to maintain them-
Carefully Handling The Hearing Aids
Even though these days most hearing aids are durable and strong, it is still paramount to handle them carefully. Every time when you hold your hearing ads, or remove them from your ear, or insert them in your ear, or you clean them, make sure to have a secure grip. It will refrain you from dropping your hearing aids and getting them damaged. Also, whenever you’ll need to set the hearing aids down, make sure to place them on a soft and clean surface, soft cloths for instance.
Storing The Hearing Aids in a Dry and Safe Place
Make sure to store your hearing aids in a dry, clean and safe space when you take them out from your ears each night. You can consider getting a special hearing aid dryer or a dehumidifier to keep your hearing aids dry if your home is really humid. You can leave them out in the open air too for all night if the weather isn’t humid, but in that case, you should leave the battery doors open so that moisture doesn’t get built up.
Also, you must pick a safe location for storing your hearing aids so that they don’t get overlooked, and don’t get pushed, dropped, or damaged accidentally as a result. You need to be particularly careful if you have small children or pets or both in your house that can cause damage to the hearing aids easily. Keep your hearing aids away from them.
Not Immersing The Hearing Aids in Water
Even though there are many hearing aids these days that are water-resistant, try your best to not immerse them in water. You shouldn’t wear them at all when you are taking a shower, or going for a swim. Also, make sure to not use any water while you are cleaning your hearing aids.
If moisture or water comes into contact with any inner component of the hearing aids, it can cause significant damage to the device. So, make sure to always take your hearing aids off before you get into the shower, or get into a swimming pool. Also, you need to do the same before getting inside a steam room or a hot tub. However, if your hearing aids somehow get wet even after all the caution, you can dry them gently with a towel. Try not to use any high-heat device to dry the hearing aids, as the components of the device can melt, distort, or stop functioning due to the heat.
Cleaning Off Earwax Daily
Earwax is something that will always be inside your ear, as they play an important role in keeping your ears free of diseases. But this earwax also creates an adverse condition for your hearing aids. Earwax can build up around your hearing aids if you don’t clean them for a long time, and decrease the performance level of the devices. It is recommended to clean your hearing aids at the end of every day, as the hearing aids get exposed to the earwax of your ears daily. You can use various cleaning tools to keep your hearing aids clean.
You can use a soft toothbrush or a dry cotton swab to clean earwax or any other similar debris from the hearing aids. Pay special attention while cleaning the receiver of the hearing aids, as the earwax gets most accumulated on this part of the device. Also, clean your microphone cautiously. Make sure to change the wax filter of the hearing aids frequently. The wax filter protects the internal parts of the hearing aids from internal damage, so replace it whenever earwax gets built upon it.
Taking Care of The Batteries
The battery is one of the most important parts of a hearing aid, so it is important to take care of them. These days many batteries are rechargeable, where the others need to be replaced after a certain time. If you don’t replace them timely, they can cause malfunctions in your hearing aid. Also, make sure to keep the battery doors open while the hearing aids are not in use, to release any moisture as they can cause batteries to corrode, and damage the interior of the hearing aid.
Final Words
Hearing aids are really important for people with hearing loss problems, as these devices help them with getting on with their normal lives. So, it is important to properly maintain them by going through the above-mentioned steps so that the devices can keep being of service for a long while.
