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Hearing Aid Care

A complete guide for taking care of your hearing aids by Dr Cliff, AuD

Person holding an Oticon hearing aid and its black carrying case near a computer keyboard.

A Comprehensive Guide to Hearing Aid Maintenance

Any hearing aid wearer knows how important these small devices are to enhancing your day to day life, and taking proper care of them is crucial to their continued functionality.

While caring for your hearing aids isn’t complex or time-consuming, they do require cleaning and proper storing in order for them to work well. Below are some quick tips for caring for your hearing aids.

General Recommendations

Do not get your hearing aids wet. Remove hearing aids when swimming, showering, in saunas or steam showers, etc. If your hearing aids do get wet, remove the battery and open the battery door. Call us to schedule an appointment to make sure they are not damaged.

We also recommend that you do not use hair care products (especially hair spray) or apply lotion, sunscreen or makeup to your face while wearing hearing aids. These substances can damage components of your hearing aids.

Finally, to ensure your hearing aids are operating at their best, bring your them in for regular servicing and performance checks.

Tips for Cleaning Your Hearing Aids

👉🏼 Clean your hearing aids every day with a soft, dry cloth.

👉🏼 Keep them dry: never use water, alcohol or cleansers.

👉🏼 Use a dehumidifier kit regularly to help combat moisture.

👉🏼 Use a wax loop or brush to remove earwax from the hearing aid or earmold.

👉🏼 Change your wax filters every 1-2 months or any time your hearing aids sound weak.

👉🏼 Schedule an appointment for us to replace earmolds and tubing when they become dry, cracked, stiff or discolored.

How to Clean Hearing Aids (Style Specific)

How to Clean Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids

How to Clean Receiver-in-Canal (RIC) Hearing Aids

How to Clean In-the-ear (ITE) Hearing Aids

How to Clean Invisible-in-the-Canal (IIC) Hearing Aids

Tips for Storing Your Hearing Aids

👉🏼 Open the battery door when the hearing aid is not in use.

👉🏼 Protect your hearing aid from excessive heat.

👉🏼 Keep out of the reach of children and pets.

👉🏼 Never put your hearing aids in a pocket or wrap them in a tissue—use the protective cases they came with instead.

👉🏼 Store your devices in a Dry & Store kit. Even in the hot Arizona desert, hearing aids are constantly subject to moisture. Dehydrating them each night will ensure years of use and helps to maintain their sound quality.

Hearing Aid Battery Tips

Hearing aids work hard. They get little rest between daily use and have to perform well 365 days a year. It may come as no surprise that this performance requires a fair amount of batteries. Battery life can vary between different hearing aid models.

The exact schedule for changing batteries depends on factors including the size of the battery, the amount of time the hearing aids are worn, and the power requirements of the hearing aid. Depending on your instrument, battery life can last anywhere from 5 to 21 days.

Some of today’s modern hearing aids have the ability to convert to a rechargeable option, thus eliminating the need to purchase, store, and replace batteries. If you are interested in this option, please contact our office for more information.

Tips for maximizing hearing aid battery life

👉🏼 Store batteries in a dry, safe location away from children and pets. Do not refrigerate hearing aid batteries.

👉🏼 Discard and replace dead batteries immediately, as they can leak and corrode your hearing aid.

👉🏼 Do not remove tabs until you need the battery. Once the tab is removed, it will slowly lose power.

‍SAFETY NOTE: Never put batteries in your mouth. If a battery is swallowed, call the battery ingestion hotline printed on the back of each pack of batteries immediately.