Sunny days are ahead of us! If you are a hearing aid user, you should never have to choose between clear hearing and being able to see in bright, sunny conditions, but we’re often asked if it’s possible to wear sunglasses with hearing aids, as they both sit in a similar spot. With a few smart strategies, it’s perfectly possible!
Sunglasses and the Different Hearing Aid Styles
There are several different hearing aid styles that vary in how they sit on or in your ear. The style you wear will have a big impact on how much they’ll come in contact with your sunglasses.
The hearing aid styles that sit with the body, microphone and speaker all in your ear (such as ITE and CIC) should suffer no interference with sunglasses at all. However, the styles that have the microphone and body outside of the ear canal and resting behind the ear (such as BTE and RIC) might have to compete a bit.
Crowded Behind the Ear
The space behind your ear isn’t very big, so it’s possible for sunglasses to jostle and crowd BTE or RIC hearing aids. This can occasionally cause:
- General discomfort
- Feedback or clicking sounds
- Dislodged hearing aids
How to Wear Them Together
Here are the strategies that work most commonly for people when they wear sunglasses comfortably with their hearing aids.
- There’s a lot of discussion on whether you should put glasses or hearing aids on first, but it’s a bit more cut-and-dry in the case of sunglasses; put your hearing aids on first. In all likelihood, you’ll be putting your sunglasses on and taking them off somewhat frequently throughout the day, while your aids will stay on your ears. Putting your hearing aids on first anchors them so the sunglasses can come and go without moving them too much.
- Pick your sunglasses smartly. Thick, chunky, plastic sunglasses arms are going to crowd your hearing aids much more than a pair with thin metal arms. Opt for a pair with slimmer arms.
- Use hearing aid accessories, such as retention cords, clips or a lanyard.
Again, these are what commonly work. But remember, every ear, hearing aid and pair of sunglasses is slightly different; some of these strategies might not work for you. Work with them a bit to find what works best for you.
Talk to Your Audiologist
If you’ve been working with them and are still having issues, raise the issue with your audiologist. There are other solutions as well, including:
- Custom earmolds, which can help your hearing aids stay more secure inside your ear canal
- Adjusting the tubing
- A new hearing aid style
We don’t want your sunglasses to affect your hearing, and we also want to protect your eyes! Come and see us to discuss any problems. Call PDX ENT to learn more.
