Hearing Aids

How Do I Clean and Maintain My Hearing Aid?

Someone holding a hearing aid

Finally! Your hearing is much clearer now with your new hearing aid. The next thing you want to be sure of is that you’re keeping your hearing aid clean. Hearing aids are powerful devices made up of a few intricate parts. And let’s face it: they work because they are in your ear for most of your day. So keeping them clean is essential to ensuring their prolonged life (and your hearing enjoyment!).

How to keep hearing aids clean is the number one question we are asked at all of our clinics. So we decided to prepare the following instructions to help you learn how to clean and maintain your hearing aid.

How to Clean A Hearing Aid: Our Guide

The guide we provide here is a how-to for cleaning hearing aids in general. It is ideal for most hearing aids, but before going ahead with cleaning your hearing aid, make sure you read your specific hearing aid manual. Some hearing aids may have special care instructions, so you’ll need to know them.

The Healing Aid Cleaning Tools You’ll Need

To be able to clean and maintain your hearing aid, you’ll need the following tools. Don’t substitute with something similar, or you will be at risk of damaging them. Always make sure you are using tools that are designed specifically for cleaning hearing aids.

Hearing Aid Cleaning Tools:

  • Wax removal brush
  • Soft, clean, dry cloth
  • Wax pick/wire loop
  • Vent cleaner

Before You Begin Cleaning Your Hearing Aid: Three Rules

There are three rules you should follow when cleaning your hearing aid. They apply to any hearing aid and will help ensure no damage occurs when cleaning:

  1. Never allow water to get on your hearing aid; water can damage electronics
  2. Don’t use chemical solutions to wipe your hearing aid. Only use solutions that are made specifically for hearing aids
  3. Avoid inserting anything into the microphone or ports, and be sure not to push dirt or wax into these openings

Hearing Aid Cleaning: Daily Routine

We recommend cleaning your hearing aid daily in the morning. Mornings are suggested because your hearing aid would have had time to dry overnight. This will make it easier for you to remove wax and other build-up.

Daily Cleaning Steps:

  1. Using a wax removal brush, brush the microphone cover (gently!) to remove wax or any other build-up.
  2. With a soft, dry cloth, wipe down the entire hearing aid.
  3. That’s it: your hearing aid is ready for another day of use!

Hearing Aid Cleaning: Weekly Routine

In addition to the daily cleaning routine, we also recommend a weekly cleaning where you can spend a little more time removing wax and dirt build-up.

Weekly Cleaning Steps:

  1. Using a wax pick/wire loop, gently remove any wax or dirt deposits that your daily cleaning hasn’t removed. Be careful no to use the wax pick/wire loop around the microphone or any receiver ports.
  2. Using the wax removal brush, gently clean the microphone cover, the ports, and any openings. Turn the hearing aid upside down when doing this so that any dirt that gets dislodged while cleaning falls out (and not back in).
  3. If you have a hearing aid with a wax guard, now is a good time to check and see if it needs to be replaced.
  4. Following this weekly routine ensures your hearing aid is performing the way it is intended to.

Want More Tips? Here Are Some General Hearing Aid Maintenance & Care Tips

  • As a general rule, you should open the battery compartment of the hearing at night while not in use. This will help extend the life of the battery, but more importantly, allow your hearing aid to air out (less moisture means it’s easier to clean each day).
  • Always place a soft cloth underneath your hearing aid when you change the battery, clean it, or simply when you are inserting and removing it. This will help prevent unnecessary damage to your device.
  • Moisture and hearing aids don’t mix. Never wear your hearing aid while swimming, showering, or in the sauna. In fact, you should make sure your ears are dry before inserting your hearing aid into your ear.
  • If you have an appointment for an X-ray, MRI or CT scan, you should not wear your hearing aid.
  • If you use cosmetic products such as make-up or hairspray, make sure you insert your hearing aid only after applying these products.
  • It is good practice to change your hearing aid batteries more often. Moisture from wearing the hearing aid that is trapped inside the battery compartment can cause the batteries to corrode and damage the hearing aid. This is why we recommend opening the battery cover each night after use to allow the hearing aid to dry.

Our Clinics Are Here to Help

In addition to our recommended daily and weekly cleaning routines, your hearing aids should also be cleaned professionally to thoroughly remove earwax and other particle build-up that may be clogging your hearing aids. We recommend having this done every four to six months. Need help with professionally cleaning your hearing aid? Contact us today!

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