You take good care of your hearing aids. Cleaning them every day, you make sure they are safe and comfortable on their charger when you go to sleep.
Suddenly and discouragingly, your hearing aids are no longer working the way they once did. There are a few things you can do to troubleshoot the problem, thankfully. Just don’t forget: your main job is to avoid damaging your hearing aid further (or you may have to replace them).
Hearing aid troubleshooting
Naturally, when you first got your nice new hearing aids, you made a point of storing the owner’s manual in a safe place. You’ll want to take it out so you can utilize it for troubleshooting and, potentially, maintenance. Each model of hearing aid can be somewhat different so it’s important to follow the manual’s recommendations.
On most models there are some other things you can check, here are a few:
- Check for visible damage: Do you see any visible cracks or loose components around the shell of your hearing aid? Cracks, clearly, could indicate more extensive damage (or allow in moisture).
- Keep your microphone clear: Check your hearing aid to find out if anything is blocking the microphone. Your hearing aid may feedback or merely fail to work if the microphone is obstructed.
- Wax accumulation: Make sure there’s no wax on your hearing aid by giving it a visual inspection. Wax can build up quickly even if you clean your hearing aids regularly so make sure you double check.
- Check your battery: You’ll still want to check the battery power even if you had your hearing aids on the charger at night. If your hearing aid has replaceable batteries, it may not be a bad idea to check if those batteries are inserted properly or if a new one resolves the issue.
Again, consult your owner’s manual on how you might address each of these issues. Self-maintenance is sometimes possible.
How can I tell when my hearing aid requires repair?
If your hearing aid continues to malfunction after you’ve performed basic upkeep and troubleshooting, it’s likely that your hearing aid will need to be professionally repaired. That may not always sound desirable, after all, you rely on your hearing aid for day-to-day communication (not to mention dinners with your family, staying up to date with your favorite Netflix series, and so on).
You won’t automatically be without your hearing aid for extended periods of time just because it needs to be serviced. In some instances, we can fix your hearing aid in office while you wait.
Or, you’ll be able to bring your hearing aids in for professional help and get them back in a matter of a few hours (this, obviously, depends on the extent of the damage, all the more reason to bring your devices in for repair as soon as you can).
There are still some instances where such quick repair isn’t possible. And in those cases, you may find yourself in need of a backup set of hearing aids. So if you’ve got an old pair lying around, ask whether they will serve on a temporary basis. We might even be able to loan you a pair while you are waiting.
Don’t wait to get help with your hearing aids
If the audio quality is starting to falter, it’s crucial to get your hearing aids checked and repaired.
Any degree of downtime needs to be prevented. Your mental health and your overall health can be affected by neglected hearing loss. More to the point, once your hearing aids are ignored in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they don’t exist, all the while, your hearing gets worse and worse.
Keeping those hearing aids in excellent working order is the secret to keeping your hearing healthy. And the best way to do that is to clean them, keep them charged, and, when needed, bring your hearing aids to get some professional repair.