Is a Waterproof Hearing Aid for You?

You love to swim or take part in water-sports, but if you have hearing loss this can leave you with a dilemma. Do you continue to swim but feel vulnerable without your hearing device, or do you forgo the activity?

Until now, this decision has largely been one of self-confidence and how able you feel about having limited hearing in a public situation. While this may be easy for individual activities, what if you belong to a club or team, or need to listen to instruction or music?

Now you can have the best of both worlds. Both waterproof and water-resistant hearing devices are available to meet the hearing needs of those who enjoy water-sports, perspire heavily during exercise, or work in a dusty environment.

Waterproof or Water-resistant: Which is best for you?

To answer this question helps to understand the subtle differences between the two. Waterproof means the device functions after being submerged in water, whereas water-resistant can withstand contact with water such as taking a shower or heavy perspiration, but not immersion for prolonged periods of time.

There is a greater range of choice amongst water-resistant hearing devices, which is reflected in the price. There are entry level devices with excellent features such as Bluetooth compatibility, Duo-channel (hearing the speaker in devices in each ear), background noise cancelling, and exceptional hearing boost for high-frequency sound loss.

Water-resistant devices allow you not to be too delicate with your devices. You can leap in the shower without having to remove the device, and they are great if you work in a dusty environment or tend to sweat heavily. The other advantage is there are in-the-ear models, which are practically invisible, as well as discrete behind-the-ear devices.

IP Rating

If you swim, kayak, or are a general water-baby, then you will enjoy the freedom a fully waterproof hearing aid gives you to continue with activities as you always have. Fully waterproof devices are able to withstand being submerged in water. For reassurance that the device is capable of this, look for an International Protection (IP) rating of 68.

The IP rating assesses hearing devices for two factors: dust and water resistance. This uses a two number score system. The first number reflects the ability to withstand dust, and the maximum score is 6. The second number denotes water resistance with a maximum number of 8. Thus, a water-resistant device is rated 7, while a waterproof device is 8.

The best person to advise you on the suitability of a hearing device is your audiologist or hearing professional. They can assess your hearing loss and help you decide on a hearing aid to suit your lifestyle, both in terms of your hobbies and activities, as well as your personal style and how discrete you wish the device to be.