You take care of your hearing aids. Cleaning them daily, you make sure they are safe and comfortable on their charger when you go to bed.
Suddenly and distressingly, your hearing aids aren’t working the way they once did. There are a few things you can do to diagnose the problem, thankfully. Not doing any further damage is your top priority so you won’t have to replace them.
Hearing aid troubleshooting
Naturally, when you first got your nice new hearing aids, you made a point of putting the owner’s manual in a safe place. You’ll want to pull it out so you can utilize it for troubleshooting and, potentially, maintenance. Using your owner’s manual is important because every model of hearing aid is different.
On most models there are some other things you can check, here are a few:
- Wax buildup: Do a visual check of your hearing aid to make sure that there is no wax accumulation interfering with basic functionality. Wax can accumulate quickly even if you clean your hearing aids frequently so make sure you double check.
- Keep your microphone clear: Check for anything blocking the microphone of your hearing aid. Your hearing aid may feedback or simply fail to work if the microphone is blocked.
- Check your battery: Even if you know your hearing aids charged all night, you’ll want to double-check the battery power. If your hearing aid has replaceable batteries, it might be a good idea to check if those batteries are inserted properly or if a new one fixes the problem.
- Look for noticeable damage: Do you see any visible cracks or loose components around the shell of your hearing aid? Cracks, obviously, could suggest more significant damage (or allow in moisture).
Once again you can discover how to address each of these concerns by referring to your owner’s manual. Self-maintenance is sometimes possible.
When does my hearing aid require repair?
Your hearing aid will probably have to be professionally repaired if you do routine upkeep and it still malfunctions. You need your hearing aids for almost every aspect of your life so this may not sound really appealing.
You won’t necessarily be without your hearing aid for extended periods of time just because it needs to be serviced. Sometimes, we can do the repair in office and you can take it with you when you leave.
Or, depending on the level of the damage, you could have your hearing aids back in a few hours.
There are still some cases where such fast repair is not possible. A backup set of hearing aids may be needed in these situations. Maybe you have an old pair that will do temporarily in a pinch. Or maybe we have a loaner pair you can borrow.
Don’t wait to get assistance with your hearing aids
If the sound quality is starting to falter, it’s crucial to get your hearing aids checked and repaired.
You’ll want to try to avoid any downtime. Neglected hearing loss can affect your general health, including your mental health. More to the point, once your hearing aids are forgotten in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they’re not there, meanwhile, your hearing grows worse and worse.
The optimum way to keep your hearing working properly is to keep those hearing aids working. And the best way to do that is to clean them, keep them charged, and, when necessary, bring your hearing aids to get some professional repair.