You go out of your way to be certain your hearing aids are well taken care of. When you go to sleep, you always put them snuggly on the charger and you clean them daily.
Suddenly and distressingly, your hearing aids aren’t working the way they once did. There are a few things you can do to troubleshoot the problem, luckily. Just don’t forget: your main job is to avoid damaging your hearing aid additionally (or you might need to replace them).
Hearing aid troubleshooting
You kept the owner’s manual that came with your shiny new hearing aids, right? Hopefully, you did so that you can check with your owner’s manual to undertake maintenance and troubleshooting. Using your owner’s manual is crucial because every model of hearing aid is different.
On most models there are some other things you can check, here are a few:
- Check your battery: Even if you know your hearing aids spent the night on the charger, you’ll want to double-check the battery power. It may be a good idea to check if you may need new batteries or if the old ones are properly inserted, particularly if your batteries are replaceable.
- Keep your microphone clear: Look for anything blocking the microphone of your hearing aid. 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. Even if you carry out routine cleaning, sometimes wax can accumulate quickly, so it’s worth checking this off your list.
- Look for noticeable damage: Do you see any visible cracks or loose components around the shell of your hearing aid? Cracks, clearly, could suggest more significant damage (or let in moisture).
Once again you can learn how to address each of these issues by consulting your owner’s manual. Self-maintenance is sometimes possible.
How will I know when my hearing aid needs repair?
Your hearing aid will most likely have to be repaired professionally if you do routine maintenance and it still malfunctions. You need your hearing aids for almost every facet of your life so this might not sound really appealing.
You won’t automatically be without your hearing aid for lengthy 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, depending on the level of the damage, you could get your hearing aids back in a few hours.
There are still some cases where such rapid repair is not possible. A backup pair of hearing aids might be required in these cases. 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.
Don’t wait to get assistance with your hearing aids
If the audio quality is beginning to fail, it’s crucial to get your hearing aids assessed and repaired.
You’ll want to prevent any downtime. Your mental health and your overall health can be affected by untreated hearing loss. And it becomes all too easy to leave your hearing aids sitting in a drawer somewhere while your hearing continues to diminish.
The optimum way to keep your hearing healthy is to keep those hearing aids working. And the best way to do that is to keep them clean, keep them charged, and, when necessary, take your hearing aids to get some professional repair.
