You take care of your hearing aids. When you go to bed, you always put them snuggly on the charger and you clean them daily.
Suddenly and distressingly, your hearing aids aren’t working the way they used to. There are several things you can do to diagnose the problem, luckily. Just remember: your number one job is to refrain from damaging your hearing aid additionally (or you might need to replace them).
Troubleshooting your hearing aid
You saved the owner’s manual that came with your shiny new hearing aids, right? Hopefully, you did so that you can check with your owner’s manual to perform maintenance and troubleshooting. Each model of hearing aid can be rather different so it’s important to follow the manual’s guidelines.
Here are some things you can check on most models:
- Check your battery: Even if you know your hearing aids spent the night on the charger, you’ll want to double-check the battery power. If your hearing aid has replaceable batteries, it might not be a bad plan to check if those batteries are correctly inserted or if a new one solves the problem.
- Check for noticeable damage: Do you notice any visible cracks or loose components around the shell of your hearing aid? Cracks, clearly, could suggest more significant damage (or allow in moisture).
- Keep your microphone clear: Check your hearing aid to find out if anything is obstructing the microphone. Your hearing aid may feedback or simply fail to work if the microphone is obstructed.
- Wax buildup: Perform a visual inspection of your hearing aid to make sure that there’s no wax accumulation interfering with standard functionality. Wax can accumulate quickly even if you clean your hearing aids regularly so make sure you double check.
Again, consult your owner’s manual on how you should address each of these concerns. In some cases, you may be able to perform maintenance yourself.
How will I know when my hearing aid needs repair?
If your hearing aid keeps malfunctioning after you have performed basic maintenance and troubleshooting, it’s likely that your hearing aid will need to be professionally repaired. You need your hearing aids for nearly every facet of your life so this might not sound that appealing.
It’s certainly worth taking note that “repair” doesn’t necessarily mean “mail your hearing aids in for service and wait several weeks”. In some instances, we can fix your hearing aid in office while you wait.
Or, depending on the level of the damage, you could get your hearing aids back in a few hours.
But fast repair will not be possible in all cases. A backup set of hearing aids might be needed in these cases. So if you have an old pair lying around, ask whether they will serve temporarily. Or it’s possible that we have a loaner pair you can borrow.
Get help with your hearing aids right away
If the audio quality is starting to fail, it’s crucial to get your hearing aids assessed and repaired.
Any degree of downtime needs to be prevented. Your mental health and your overall health can be impacted by neglected hearing loss. And it becomes all too easy to leave your hearing aids sitting in a drawer somewhere while your hearing continues to diminish.
The best way to keep your hearing working properly is to keep those hearing aids working. Keeping them charged, clean, and when needed, professionally repaired is the best way to do that.