Maintenance of your hearing aids
Hearing aids are made up of tiny components and intricate circuitry. Hearing aids are robust but care is needed to ensure optimum performance and device longevity. Some steps you can take to ensure you get the best from your hearing aids are provided below.
Daily maintenance tasks
- Cleaning – every time you take your hearing aids out of your ear – give them a quick dry clean to ensure wax is not building up around the earpiece / speaker. You will have been provided with a soft cloth, brush and pick in your fitting pack. It only takes a little bit of wax in the wrong spot to have a big impact on sound quality. Wax build-up over time can also damage the internal mechanics of the devices.
- Moisture management – most modern hearing aids are waterproof however condensation can eventually find a way into the devices, reducing their lifespan. Keep your hearing aids as dry as possible. Store them in your home drying kit overnight if you have one.
- Knocks: keep your devices in their case when you are not using them and, if possible, hold them over soft surfaces when handling
- Heat: do not leave hearing aids in direct sunlight or in an unattended hot car for extended periods
- Chemicals: remove devices before applying hairspray or other chemicals and ensure you have clean hands when handling
- Kids and pets: keep your hearing aids secure and out of reach of children and pets when not in use. Cats and dogs (especially dogs) love the smell and taste of ear wax and will happily chomp on hearing aids if they can get to them
- Charging: if your hearing aids are powered by standard button batteries, take them out at night to conserve battery power and avoid corrosion in the device / battery door. If you have rechargeable hearing aids, don’t forget to pop them on the charger when you are going to bed, so your aids are fully charged and ready to go the following morning.
Weekly / monthly maintenance tasks
- Battery change – if your hearing aids are powered by standard button batteries, change the batteries every week. If you are not using your hearing aids for an extended period, take the batteries completely out of the device to prevent battery corrosion.
- Keep your domes and filters fresh – change the hearing aid domes and wax filters as needed, anywhere between 3 and 12 months for domes.
Yearly maintenance tasks
- Come in for your post-fitting appointments – Follow-up appointments after fitting are important to troubleshoot any early issues you may be having with your hearing aids. At annual review appointments, your hearing aids will be inspected, cleaned, components changed as necessary and re-programmed to reflect your updated hearing levels and to address any acoustic issues you may be having
- Contact the clinic when issues arise – if you have any issues with the device acoustics, comfort, retention, management or anything else, don’t wait for your next appointment – contact us! Addressing problems to ensure you get the most benefit possible from your hearing aids is an important part of our job.
At Mackay Hearing, we take the time to ensure you feel confident in managing and maintaining all aspects of your new hearing devices (including hearing aids, FM systems or other Assistive Listening Devices). We are always happy for you to call us or visit us in our clinic if you need further assistance.
If you would like further information or wish to make an appointment, please contact our friendly local staff directly on (07) 4952 4649, email us at listening@mackayhearing.com.au, or leave us a message on our website.