A Comprehensive Guide to Hearing Device Maintenance

woman having a hearing aid fitted

Hearing devices are an integral part of many people’s lives. It can be challenging to find the time to maintain them, but it is essential. If you neglect your hearing device for too long, it will start to affect your day-to-day life and can even become dangerous. For this reason, many people have difficulty finding the time to maintain their hearing aids properly. In this post, we’ll give you a comprehensive guide on how to do just that!

How Should You Clean Hearing Aids?

To make sure your hearing aids are clean and function properly, you must regularly clean them. It would help if you wiped down the exterior of your device with a dry cloth or cotton swab every time after wearing them. It’s also a good idea to take out the batteries before doing so as well! Additionally, check for any visible dirt on the exterior of your device each day you wear it – if there is grime present that has gotten stuck in between buttons or anywhere else on the body of your aid, use an alcohol-soaked cotton swab to remove it from its nooks and crannies gently.

How Often Should You Clean Hearing Aids?

This is a more difficult question to answer, as it depends on many factors. Your hygiene routine and the amount of sweat you produce will affect this; for example, if you work out often or tend to get sweaty while wearing your hearing aid, make sure that you clean them every day. If not, try cleaning them twice per week to avoid any ear infections that may arise from unclean devices. Even if they are only dirty once a week, they still take some time each month to give them an intense wash with rubbing alcohol!

This should be done at least four times throughout their lifespan – when you first receive them after purchasing new ones, when changing batteries mid-cycle and around the one-year mark. In addition to this, it is also a good idea to give your hearing aid some time off from being worn at least once per week – even if you don’t have an active lifestyle, making them sweat excessively or require cleaning more often than usual! This will help ensure they stay pristine.

What is the Difference Between Cleaning In the Ear (ITE), Behind the Ear (BTE) or In the Canal (ITC)?

The process for cleaning these devices is slightly different, as each has a unique set of components. For example, if you have an ITE device, it’s essential to be very gentle when removing the tip from your ear so as not to damage them! If that isn’t possible, take off your hearing aid and clean it with rubbing alcohol – but try this after consulting with your audiologist first.

Additionally, remove batteries before doing so unless they are rechargeable! Behind-the-ear (BTE) devices function similarly; however, there should be no visible dirt on them that can easily be removed using an alcohol swab. Finally, ITC aids should only have their exterior cleaned with a dry cloth or cotton swab. Again, however, this is the only type of device which should not require taking off batteries before cleaning as they are not inserted directly into your ear!