You take good care of your hearing aids. When you go to sleep, you always put them comfortably on the charger and you clean them every day.
But you get pretty distressed when your hearing aids abruptly stop working the way they used to. Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to diagnose the issue. Not doing any further damage is your number one priority so you won’t have to replace them.
Troubleshooting your hearing aid
Naturally, when you first got your sweet new hearing aids, you made a point of storing the owner’s manual in a safe place. Hopefully, you did so that you can consult with your owner’s manual to do maintenance and troubleshooting. Following your owner’s manual is crucial because every model of hearing aid is different.
Here are some things you can check on most models:
- Keep your microphone clear: Check your hearing aid to see if anything is obstructing the microphone. Your hearing aid might 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 check. Wax can accumulate quickly even if you clean your hearing aids frequently so make it a point to double check.
- Check your battery: You’ll still want to assess the battery power even if you had your hearing aids on the charger overnight. If your hearing aid has replaceable batteries, it might be a good idea to check if those batteries are correctly inserted or if a new one resolves the problem.
- Look for noticeable damage: Does your hearing aid have any obvious loose components or cracks around its shell? Cracks, clearly, could suggest more significant damage (or allow in moisture).
Once again you can discover how to address each of these issues by referring to your owner’s manual. Self-maintenance is sometimes possible.
How can I tell when my hearing aid needs repair?
Your hearing aid will probably have to be professionally repaired if you do routine upkeep and it still malfunctions. You need your hearing aids for nearly every facet of your life so this might not sound that appealing.
You won’t necessarily 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, you’ll be able to take your hearing aids in for professional assistance and have 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 fast repair is not possible. A backup pair of hearing aids might be needed in these cases. So if you’ve got an old pair lying around, ask whether they will serve on a temporary basis. Or maybe we have a loaner pair you can borrow.
Don’t wait to get assistance with your hearing aids
It’s crucial to have your hearing aid assessed and repaired if you begin to notice the sound quality is starting to fail.
You’ll want to avoid any downtime. Your mental health and your overall health can be affected by untreated hearing loss. Moreover, once your hearing aids are forgotten in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they don’t exist, all the while, your hearing grows worse and worse.
The best way to keep your hearing working properly is to keep those hearing aids working. Keeping them charged, clean, and when necessary, professionally repaired is the best way to do that.