Cleaning and maintaining your hearing aids regularly will go a long way in extending your life and maintaining their performance at an optimum. Being one of the most important investments, hearing aids require regular maintenance to keep functioning properly. Here are some practical and professional tips to help you properly clean and maintain your hearing aids so that they are always in optimal working condition and provide a comfortable listening experience.
Read your hearing aid manual and check it regularly
Before you begin cleaning your hearing aids yourself, you need to read the operating instructions for your hearing aids thoroughly. It contains recommendations regarding cleaning and precautions and operating instructions for every component of the device. In order not to damage the device, you also should not perform any operation that is directly prohibited either by the manual or your hearing health professional. Also, regularly see your hearing aid supplier or hearing health professional and have professional cleaning and inspections at least every 6 months to 1 year.
Recommended hearing aid cleaning tools
You need to know which tool will work best for you when cleaning your hearing aids daily. A few of the recommended cleaning tools that will help you keep your hearing aids clean with much ease include:
1. Earwax cleaning brush: These are specially designed for removing earwax or dirt from the surface and inside of hearing aids.
2. Soft, dry cloth: This should be used to wipe the housing of the hearing aid gently in order not to scratch the surface of the device.
3. Earwax cleaning stick or small iron ring: more suitable for situations where the earwax accumulation is stubborn, especially between small gaps and holes.
4. Vent cleaner: designed to clean vents, which can clear dirt and other debris accumulation inside the vents effectively.
If you are not sure how to choose a cleaning tool, directly get the multitask-hearing-aid cleaning kit that encompasses all of the above-listed tools.
Precautions while cleaning
Try avoiding moisture from coming in contact with hearing aids: It’s the “enemy” of hearing aid electronic components; never dip the device in water or use a wet cloth to clean it.
Avoid using non-special chemical cleaners, since they may destroy either the outer housing or the internal parts. Use only cleaning products designed for cleaning hearing aids.
No insertion of foreign objects: The microphone and receiver ports should never be cleaned with sharp tools since there is a risk that pushing dirt deeper inside or damaging elements might occur.
Handle carefully: Be gentle while cleaning, as the delicate parts might get damaged due to excessive force.
Recommendation on the cleaning frequency
According to usage frequency and working environments, hearing aid cleaning could be categorized as daily cleaning and deep cleaning once a week.
Daily cleaning
It is necessary to clean the hearing aid every morning. Mornings are considered optimal since, after a night of rest, earwax and any other dirt are more often dry and easy to remove. Daily cleaning could be done as follows:
Use an earwax cleaning brush to sweep away dirt and earwax on the microphone cover with care; wipe off the outer shell of the hearing aid with a soft, dry cloth to keep it clean and shining. Open the battery compartment and keep it ventilated and dry; this would be helpful to prolong the use of the batteries.
Weekly deep cleaning
More time in a week should be dedicated to deep cleaning and checking the hearing device for stubborn dirt that keeps it in good condition. This includes cleaning earwax that builds up in the gaps of the device with an earwax cleaning stick or a small iron ring, checking and replacing the hearing aid’s earwax protector if it had that function, and then using a vent cleaner to deeply clean dust and other debris inside the vent.
Cleaning different types of hearing aids
In-the-ear hearing aids (ITE)
Due to the small size, ITEs paid great attention while cleaning the microphone cover, receiver, and vents:
Surface dirt from the microphone cover, receiver, and vents is cleaned lightly with an earwax cleaning brush.
Earwax that stubbornly gathered is removed by using an earwax cleaning stick.
Vent cleaner for cleaning inside the vent dirt in various directions;
Lastly, use a soft, dry cloth and gently wipe the surface of the hearing aid to clean it.
Behind-the-ear type (BTE)
The behind-the-ear hearing aids have parts like the main unit, ear mold, and sound tube, so the cleaning must be done step by step:
Pull out the ear mold and wash it with warm water; afterward, dry and install it. Note that only the earmold part can be exposed to water;
Check for blockages in the sound tube and clean it using the corresponding tools.
Clean the front accumulated earwax of the main unit using an earwax cleaning stick.
Summary
Proper cleaning is essential for keeping your hearing aids in top condition. At ELHearing, we provide high-quality hearing aids with strict quality control and certifications like FDA, FCC, and ROHS. Since 2014, our mission of “Simple Happiness” has guided us in offering affordable and reliable hearing solutions worldwide.