Caring For Your Hearing Aids

Hearing aids require daily care to ensure they perform well for years to come. But it only takes a few moments out of your day to adequately maintain them.

Read the quick tips below to gain a better understanding of how to care for these incredible devices:

Cleaning

  • Thoroughly wipe your hearing aids daily with a dry, soft cloth.
  • Never use water or any cleansers (especially not alcohol) on your devices; they must always stay dry.
  • To disinfect hearing aids, you may use a small, barely damp piece of a disinfectant wipe like AudioWipes™or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes™. The safe active ingredients are dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride.
  • Regularly remove earwax from your device using a brush (always brush from underneath), or a wax loop if you were instructed to use one.
  • Keep sounds crisp by changing your wax trap every 2-3 months or whenever sounds seem weak. If the aid won’t work and the battery is okay (it works in the other aid), it probably has a clogged wax trap.
  • If your earmolds or tubing become stiff, dry, discolored, cracked or loose, schedule an appointment with us for a replacement.

Storing

  • If your hearing aids have a battery door, leave it open when you are not wearing them.
  • Protect your devices from moisture and humidity by storing them in a cool, dry place or in a dehumidifier kit.
  • Keep your hearing aids away from excessive heat. Do not leave them in a hot car.
  • Hearing aids should be kept in a protective case. Never put them in your pocket or wrap them in a tissue
  • Small hearing aids are a choking hazard. Store them out of the reach of children and pets.
  • Pets, especially dogs, like to chew on hearing aids and can do a lot of damage. Be careful where you put them while you are napping.

Care

  • Hearing aids should always stay dry. Remove them before showering, swimming, or entering a sauna or steam shower.
  • If your devices get wet, immediately open the battery door (if there is one) and remove the battery. Wipe them dry then put the hearing aids in a dehumidifier kit if you have one. You can bring them in and we’ll run them through a cycle in one of our electronic driers. Many rechargeable hearing aids dry the aids as they charge. Call our office if you suspect they have been damaged so we can do a listening check and electroacoustic analysis.
  • Personal products like hair spray, sunscreen, makeup, or lotion can damage your devices. Remove your hearing aids before using these items.
  • Handle your hearing aids with care and avoid dropping or banging them on hard surfaces.
  • Contact our office to schedule routine maintenance and performance checks.

Hearing Aid Batteries

Imagine how much power it takes to process all of the sounds around you 24/7 and you’ll begin to understand how crucial battery power is to your hearing aids. Depending on your specific model, you may find that you use a fair amount of batteries each month, but every situation will be different.

Some styles offer rechargeable options, giving you the convenience of never having to worry about changing your device’s batteries again. Yet in most cases, you can expect to change your hearing aid batteries every 5 to 21 days depending on the style, battery size, and how frequently you use your devices. To help extend your battery life, try the following options:

  • Always keep batteries in a dry location that is out of reach from pets and children. Do not let batteries get hot, but also do not place your batteries in the refrigerator. Normal room temperature is best.
  • Dead batteries should be disposed of immediately as they might leak or corrode your hearing aid. .
  • Batteries come with removable tabs that seal air holes. To improve battery life, when you do remove the tab, let the battery sit for two minutes before inserting into the hearing aid. This lets the air-activated zinc charge up before you start discharging it.

Never place batteries in your mouth. If a battery is swallowed, call the battery ingestion hotline printed on the back of each pack of batteries immediately. While not toxic, they can cause a severe burn to mucous membranes .

Our Private Label Hearing Aid Batteries

Recommended by several hearing aid manufacturers and made by Varta Microbattery of Germany, they have a reputation within the hearing aid industry as a top quality, long life battery.

Also sold under the PowerOne label, they are only available locally from some offices where hearing aids are fit. We are able to offer these batteries at a very competitive price–$5.00 per package of 6–or get 10% off a carton of 10 packages (buy 9 get 1 free). This is a real value compared to brands found at local pharmacies and discount stores. They fit right in with our “high quality, best value” philosophy. Don’t pay more, get more!

We recommend caution if you purchase batteries online. You may never know if they have been stored in a hot warehouse (which can affect battery life), or if their long shelf life is about to expire.

We also have PowerOne rechargeable batteries for the older Signia/Siemens rechargeable product line (they also work for Rexton and Miracle Ear).

 

Protect your investment with proper hearing aid care.

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