How to Maintain ITE Hearing Aids

Looking after your hearing aid is of the utmost importance. As hearing aids are small electronic devices that operate in your ear, which is a very damp and warm place, you've got to look after them properly. While hearing aid manufacturers do their best to guarantee the longevity of your hearing aid, you need to do your part too.

With in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, one of the most common reasons they need repairing is wax build-up. As your ear canal produces earwax it can clog up the sound outlet or the ventilation opening. This can have an impact on the quality of the sound going directly into your ear. How can you maintain your hearing aids and look after them properly? 

The nuts and bolts of hearing aids maintenance

On the most basic level, you need to have a good maintenance ritual. Following a daily routine to clean your hearing aids is the best preventative measure. When you clean your hearing aids, you need to give special attention to the microphones and receivers. You also need to be vigilant when it comes to protecting your hearing aids from external moisture or even children and pets. Let’s show you every aspect in more detail:

Cleaning your hearing aid

You need to clean your hearing aid every day. Every hearing aid manufacturer will supply a cleaning kit, which usually comes with a cloth, a wax pick and a wax brush. There are also filters that come with ITE hearing aids. It's important to use these filters. Sometimes known as wax caps, these filters will be the best form of protection for your receiver which will make it last a lot longer. 

Important things to remember with hearing aid maintenance

It's important to follow a checklist to guarantee the longevity of your hearing aid:

• At the end of every day, put your hearing aid out to dry or in a drying device to remove moisture and wax.
• Always examine the microphone inlets and the receiver end before you put it on in the morning.
• Use a soft bristle brush to clean the receiver and microphone ports. This makes it easier to remove the dried off wax.
• Always check the battery compartments and the battery contacts for any debris or wax.
• When cleaning any built-up wax, hold the hearing aid and gently clean it using the wax brush and if there are any additional bits of wax in the ports you can use the wax pick, but be gentle with your movements.
• Finish cleaning the hearing aid by wiping the entire device with the cloth to remove any leftover debris.
• Examine the wax guard to see if it needs changing. This is the most important thing to make the hearing aid last longer.
• Get into the habit of examining your hearing aid on a regular basis to check the casing and joins for any cracks or aesthetic problems.

Protecting your hearing aid

It's also important to protect your hearing aids from external issues. Wax is one of the major problems, but there are things we come into contact with every day that can very easily cause damage to our hearing aids:

• Remove your hearing aid before any contact with water: Moisture will render your hearing aid unusable. When you take it off at the end of the day, leave the battery compartment open to let it dry out in case of any accidental contact with water. 
• Before handling your hearing aid, make sure your fingers are clean and dry: Any dirt and oil from your skin can block the microphone input.
• Remove your hearing aid before applying makeup or hairspray, as the small particles could clog up the microphone input.
• Keep them away from pets and children: While it is common sense to keep away from children, hearing aids can emit a high-frequency noise that could attract dogs and they will think nothing of eating up your hearing aid!

What if I need help with my hearing aid?

It is so important to look after your hearing aid because the better you look after it the longer it will last. But if you have any issues with your hearing aid or need to speak to someone for professional repairs, we can always help out.

You need to get the most out of your hearing aid and if you have recently been given one, the maintenance aspect of things may seem too much, but it is incredibly important. If you want to learn more about how we can help, you can contact Niagara Hearing and Speech Clinic at (855) 797-8002 and we will help you help maintain your hearing aid.