If you’re one of the thousands of residents throughout Portland with hearing loss, caring for your hearing aids should be a top priority day in and day out. Good maintenance habits can extend the life of your devices, maximizing their functionality and value. This guide is designed to help you understand the steps you should follow each day to care for your devices. As always, you should talk to your Portland hearing loss doctor for a complete list of maintenance guidelines and in-depth instructions for hearing aid care.
Keeping your hearing aids in excellent shape requires a little bit of work each day. Here are some good habits that will help you keep up with important maintenance tasks.
Wipe down your hearing aids.
Each night before bed, wipe down the exterior of your hearing devices with a soft, dry cloth. Take special care to fully clean the battery compartments, battery contacts and microphone inlet, which can all easily become clogged with earwax and dust.
Use tools to clean your hearing devices inside and out.
Once you’ve finished wiping down your hearing aids, use cleaning tools such as a wire loop and brush to more carefully clean out all the hard-to-reach cracks and crevices. If these tasks prove too much to keep up with, you can also invest in overnight cleaning equipment or a dehumidifier to keep your hearing devices clean, dry and safe.
Keep foreign substances away from your hearing devices.
Hearing aids can be easily damaged by water, cleaning supplies, hairspray, face wash, alcohol, lotion and many other substances. Make sure you take your hearing aids out before getting ready for bed and put them in after your morning wake-up routine to keep them free of contaminants.
Store your hearing aids safely.
Hearing devices are very sensitive to substances including water droplets, dust and more. Because of this, it’s vital to keep your devices as safe as possible when they’re not in use. The best way to ensure your hearing aids are unharmed is to store them properly and carefully in a designated storage container.
Keep battery compartments open when your hearing aids aren’t in use.
Earwax, dirt and moisture love to hide in your hearing devices’ battery compartments, and it’s important to combat buildups that affect how well your hearing aids work. The best way to make sure you’re keeping your battery compartments buildup-free is to ensure that you remove the batteries and leave the compartments open every night.
Schedule bimonthly maintenance appointments with your Portland hearing loss doctor.
No matter how carefully you maintain your hearing aids at home, professional care is still vital to their long life. Your audiologist has special equipment that allows for a deeper, more thorough cleaning. Regular maintenance and repair appointments are a great way to ensure your devices are looking and working their best for many years to come.
Want to know more about taking care of your hearing aids? Come visit Portland’s hearing loss experts at PDX ENT & Audiology Medical Group for top-notch hearing aid maintenance counseling and guidance today.
