How Regular Maintenance Can Help You Avoid Hearing Aid Repairs

If you use a hearing aid, you may rely on it as a lifeline for experiencing life in all its wonder. When a hearing aid doesn’t work properly, it can affect your life significantly. However, you don’t want to be repairing your hearing aid regularly. With regular maintenance, you can avoid common hearing aid problems that require repairs. Most hearing aids are durable and long-lasting so regular maintenance will help to ensure you get the best from your device.

Moisture

Moisture is a common problem that can cause a hearing aid to stop working properly. It can cause poor sound quality and the device may need to be repaired for the user to hear well again. If too much moisture builds up in your hearing aid, your hearing health professional can remove the moisture or send it to the manufacturer for specialist repairs.

Broken Tubing

Broken or damaged tubing is another common complaint with hearing aids. Tubing can go through general wear and tear over time but debris can also get caught in the tubing. This can result in poor sound or no sound at all. Fortunately, this is an easy fix for any hearing health professional. Your audiologist can replace the tubing quickly and easily so your hearing aid is as good as new.

Damaged Microphone

When the microphone on a hearing aid is damaged or broken, it won’t be able to pick up sounds and relay them to your ear. You may notice that the sound is distorted or of poorer quality than you’re used to. In this instance, your audiologist will either repair or replace the microphone.

Regular Maintenance Tips

These hearing aid problems are all preventable with regular maintenance. Your audiologist will recommend that you leave the battery compartment of your hearing aid open overnight. This is to allow any excess moisture to escape while you aren’t wearing your hearing aid. This will help to avoid moisture build up.

To avoid tubing problems, it’s important to keep your ears and your hearing aid clean. It’s inevitable that some wax will build up in both but if you can catch debris before it enters the hearing aid tubing, you can avoid the need for repairs. Ask your audiologist about wax guards for extra protection.

Unless you have waterproof hearing aids, you should take your hearing aids out and place them safely in the protective case while you shower or swim. This can help to avoid damage to the microphone. Keeping the hearing aid in its case whenever you aren’t wearing it will also help to avoid accidental damage.

If you do need urgent hearing aid repairs, it’s crucial that you contact your audiologist right away for advice. They’ll be able to walk you through the repair process and will keep you updated about any timeline issues necessary.