24 Nov Wear Clean & Change The Batteries Regularly
Get into the habit of wearing and cleaning your hearing aids
It is important to get into a good habit of wearing your hearing aids daily. As the devices become part of your natural routine, you start to forget they are there but, importantly, start to notice new sounds, new sensations, new emotions. Better hearing becomes part of your normal life and the limitations of hearing loss disappear.
It is equally important to maintain your hearing aids in good condition to ensure they are operating optimally and last a long time.
Just as regular use is important, so too is regular cleaning.
Cleaning your hearing aids
Your ear canals produce earwax primarily to lubricate the ear canal (like lip balm for your ears) and help protect the ears against infections and foreign objects such as small insects.
Earwax serves a natural and vital purpose in our body but it can, however, clog up your hearing aids and is one of the main reasons hearing aids need repair.
We recommend you establish a daily routine of taking a tissue or dry cloth and using it to rub over the earpiece – be it a dome or mould. This should remove any residual earwax.
If you have a dome, once a week it is good practice to remove it and more thoroughly clean. If your aid is not performing well then either run your ‘pipe cleaner’ through the open tube OR change the wax filter.
If you are unsure, please drop in or contact us and we’ll do it for you.
Changing the batteries in your hearing aids
The batteries in your hearing aids will typically last four to ten days, depending on how much you use them and whether you stream phone, music or television.
Changing the batteries is not complicated. You will hear a sound when the battery is running low and this signals that it is time to replace the batteries. With time, you will have a good idea of how long your batteries will last so can get into the routine of swapping them a day before you predict they’ll run out.
Here are a few useful tips when it comes to changing the batteries:
- Put a little dot or the sticker from your battery in your calendar every time you change the batteries. This will allow you to keep track of your average battery life and plan accordingly.
- Handle the batteries over a surface such as a table or a tray. That way, if you drop them, you won’t have to search the floor looking for them.
- Once you have removed the sticker from the battery, we advise waiting 30 seconds before inserting it. This gives the new battery time to draw air and will help it to function optimally.
We hope these tips will help you in your daily life with your hearing aids!