You take good care of your hearing aids. When you go to bed, you always put them comfortably on the charger and you clean them daily.
Suddenly and distressingly, your hearing aids are no longer working the way they once did. Thankfully, there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue. Just remember: your main job is to avoid damaging your hearing aid further (or you might have to replace them).
Hearing aid troubleshooting
You kept the owner’s manual that came with your beautiful new hearing aids, right? Hopefully, you did so that you can consult with your owner’s manual to perform maintenance and troubleshooting. Following your owner’s manual is important because every model of hearing aid is different.
On most models there are some other things you can check, here are a few:
- Look for visible damage: Does your hearing aid have any noticeable loose components or cracks in its shell? Cracks, clearly, could suggest more extensive damage (or allow in moisture).
- 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 idea to check if you might need new batteries or if the old ones are correctly inserted, particularly if your batteries are replaceable.
- Wax buildup: Be certain that there is no wax on your hearing aid by giving it a visual inspection. Wax can build up quickly even if you clean your hearing aids frequently so make it a point to double check.
- Keep your microphone clear: Check your hearing aid to find out if anything is blocking the microphone. Your hearing aid might feedback or simply fail to work if the microphone is blocked.
Once again you can find out how to deal with each of these concerns by consulting your owner’s manual. Self-maintenance is sometimes possible.
When does my hearing aid require repair?
If your hearing aid keeps malfunctioning after you’ve performed basic maintenance and troubleshooting, it’s likely that your hearing aid will have to be professionally repaired. That might not always sound appealing, after all, you depend on your hearing aid for daily communication (along with dinners with your family, staying up to date with your favorite Netflix series, and so on).
You won’t necessarily be without your hearing aid for lengthy periods of time just because it needs to be repaired. In some instances, we can repair your hearing aid in office while you wait.
Or, depending on the level of the damage, you could get your hearing aids back in a few hours.
But fast repair won’t be possible in all cases. And in those situations, you might find yourself in need of a backup pair of hearing aids. Maybe you have an old pair that will do temporarily in a pinch. We may even be able to let you borrow a pair while you are waiting.
Get assistance with your hearing aids without delay
If the sound quality is beginning to fail, it’s essential to get your hearing aids checked and repaired.
Any degree of downtime should be avoided. Your mental health and your overall health can be affected by neglected hearing loss. Moreover, once your hearing aids are ignored in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they don’t exist, meanwhile, your hearing gets worse and worse.
The best way to keep your hearing healthy is to keep those hearing aids working. Keeping them charged, clean, and when necessary, professionally repaired is the best way to do that.