You take care of your hearing aids. When you go to sleep, you always put them comfortably on the charger and you clean them daily.
But you get pretty distressed when your hearing aids abruptly stop working the way they used to. Thankfully, there are some measures you can take to diagnose the issue. Not doing any additional damage is your number one priority so you won’t have to replace them.
Hearing aid troubleshooting
You kept the owner’s manual that came with your shiny new hearing aids, right? You’ll want to take it out so you can use it for troubleshooting and, possibly, maintenance. Following your owner’s manual is essential because every model of hearing aid is different.
On most models there are some other things you can check, here are a few:
- Check for visible damage: Do you notice any visible cracks or loose components around the shell of your hearing aid? Cracks, clearly, could suggest more extensive damage (or allow in moisture).
- Wax accumulation: Do a visual check of your hearing aid to ensure that there’s no wax accumulation interfering with standard operation. Even if you carry out regular cleaning, sometimes wax can build up quickly, so it’s worth checking this off your list.
- Check your battery: You’ll still want to check the battery power even if you had your hearing aids on the charger overnight. If your hearing aid has replaceable batteries, it may not be a bad idea to check if those batteries are correctly inserted or if a new one fixes the problem.
- Keep your microphone clear: Look for anything blocking the microphone of your hearing aid. Your hearing aid might feedback or simply fail to work if the microphone is blocked.
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.
When does my hearing aid require repair?
If your hearing aid continues to malfunction 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 almost every aspect of your life so this may not sound that appealing.
You won’t automatically be without your hearing aid for lengthy periods of time just because it needs to be repaired. Sometimes, we can do the repair in office and you can take it with you when you go.
Or, depending on the degree of the damage, you could get your hearing aids back in a few hours.
But quick repair won’t be possible in every case. And in those cases, you may find yourself needing a backup pair of hearing aids. Maybe you have an old pair that will do temporarily in a pinch. We might even be able to loan you a pair while you are waiting.
Get help with your hearing aids without delay
It’s crucial to have your hearing aid checked and repaired if you start to notice the sound quality is beginning to falter.
You’ll want to avoid any downtime. Neglected hearing loss can affect your general health, and that includes your mental health. Moreover, once your hearing aids are ignored in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they don’t exist, meanwhile, your hearing grows worse and worse.
The optimum way to keep your hearing healthy is to keep those hearing aids working. And the ideal way to do that is to keep them clean, keep them charged, and, when needed, take your hearing aids to get some professional help.