You go above and beyond to ensure your hearing aids are well taken care of. 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 suddenly stop working the way they did once. Thankfully, there are some measures you can take to diagnose the problem. Not doing any further damage is your top priority so you won’t have to replace them.
Hearing aid troubleshooting
Of course, 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 check with your owner’s manual to perform maintenance and troubleshooting. Each model of hearing aid can be rather different so it’s important to follow the manual’s recommendations.
Here are some things you can check on most models:
- Check your battery: Even if you know your hearing aids charged all night, you’ll want to double-check the battery power. It may be a good plan to check if you may need new batteries or if the old ones are properly inserted, especially if your batteries are replaceable.
- Keep your microphone clear: Check for anything blocking the microphone of your hearing aid. An obstructed microphone can create feedback or can cause your hearing aids to sound broken or quiet.
- Wax accumulation: Be certain that there is no wax on your hearing aid by giving it a visual inspection. Wax can accumulate quickly even if you clean your hearing aids frequently so make sure you double check.
- Look for visible damage: Do you notice any visible cracks or loose components around the shell of your hearing aid? Cracks, clearly, could indicate more extensive damage (or allow in moisture).
Again, check with your owner’s manual on how you might address each of these issues. In some cases, you may be able to perform maintenance yourself.
How will I know when my hearing aid needs repair?
Your hearing aid will most likely need to be professionally repaired if you do routine maintenance and it still malfunctions. That might not always sound appealing, after all, you depend on your hearing aid for day-to-day communication (along with dinners with your family, keeping up to date with your favorite Netflix series, and so on).
You won’t automatically be without your hearing aid for lengthy periods of time just because it needs to be repaired. In some cases, we can fix it in office and you can take it with you when you go.
Or, depending on the extent of the damage, you could get your hearing aids back in a few hours.
But quick repair won’t be possible in every case. A backup set of hearing aids may be needed in these situations. So if you’ve got an old pair lying around, ask whether they will serve temporarily. We might even be able to let you borrow a pair while you are waiting.
Get assistance with your hearing aids right away
If the audio quality is beginning to fail, it’s essential to get your hearing aids assessed and repaired.
Any amount of downtime should be prevented. Your mental health and your overall health can be affected by neglected hearing loss. And it becomes all too easy to leave your hearing aids sitting in a drawer somewhere while your hearing continues to deteriorate.
The best 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 help.
