Hearing aids spend their days in a pretty hostile environment. Every day they are bombarded by earwax, rain, freezing cold, sweat and other debris. The good news is that today's hearing aids are designed to deal with all of that - but a little maintenance is required to keep them in top working order.
The most important step you can take to maintain your hearing aid performance is the removal of earwax and other debris. In fact, over 90% of "hearing aid not working" calls we get are related simply to a build up of wax. In fact, the aids are still working fine, they are just plugged. Here is a list of the issues wax build up can cause:
- Hearing aid feedback/squealing
- Complete blocking of amplified sound from hearing aid
- Cause your device to fit poorly or cause discomfort in your ear
How can I keep my hearing aids free of earwax?
First of all, you will see below a number of hearing aid parts we are going to refer to in the instructions below:
Several times a week
- Have a good look at your hearing aids in the evening as part of a regular routine. You can simply wipe them down with a tissue to remove any wax or debris that has accumulated during the day. Wipe the dome (the part that goes into your ear canal) as well as the part of the aid that goes behind your ear.
- REPLACE THE WAX GUARDS - No matter how diligent you are removing wax on a nightly basis, eventually some wax will get under the dome and plug the speaker of your hearing aids. Most premium hearing aids come with replaceable wax guards. These very small white “filters” can only be seen when the dome is removed. They perform the critical job of keeping wax out of the speaker. Any time your hearing aids seem quieter than normal or seem to cut in and out, always start by replacing the wax guards. To see how to replace the wax guard for your hearing aid model, click here.
- REPLACE THE DOMES - It is also a good idea to replace the dome every 2-4 months since they also get coated with wax. To see how to replace the dome, click here.
Every 18-24 months
- REPLACE THE RECEIVER WIRE - If you have the behind the ear style of hearing aid, there is a wire that runs from behind your ear into your ear canal. The speaker for your hearing aids is on the tip of the wire.
- Around every couple of years, you might find the aids start to sound staticky or dead even after changing the wax guard. This usually means that your receiver wire needs to be changed. This is something you can do your self but you will need our instructions. Call us anytime for help.
For more help, please call us anytime at (888) 929-9555.
