Hearing aids are fraqile miniature devices that require routine maintenance. A busy hearing aid center will repair hundreds of hearing aids each year. It is important that you know how to clean and maintain them. This article discusses common hearing aid problems and suggests ways to avoid problems.

Here is a brief list of the most typical hearing aid problems: The sound tube is plugged with wax. The battery door is broken. The switch and volume control are set inappropriately. The patient's ears are full of debris (dead skin and earwax). Microphones occluded with debris. The hearing aids have feedback (whistle). Moisture related problems (the hearing aid stops working after a couple of hours). The battery is dead. The hearing aid is hurting the patient's ear. The patient cannot understand "words" (what people are saying).

Have Family and Friend Help You need good eye sight, good dexterity, and a good memory to use and care for hearing aids. Since many people, who wear hearing aids do not have excellent vision, dexterity, and memory, it is useful to have other family members or friends help with some of the routine hearing aids tasks, like changing batteries and cleaning the opening of the hearing aid sound tube.

What to Expect

Hearing aids are not dependable like a radio or television set. Hearing aids have little batteries, delicate battery doors, tiny sound tubes and miniature microphones. It is important to understand and plan for the fact that hearing aids are going to break down from time to time. If it is difficult for you to hear without a hearing aid, then you need a spare hearing aid to use when your hearing aids are sent in for an overhall.

Preventing Hearing Aid Problems.

1. Keep the hearing aid clean.

All hearing aids have a sound tube that delivers the sound into the ear canal. On most hearing aids this little tube is colored "white". It is critically important that this tube remains open. Use a strong light and a magnifying glass and look into this tube to see whether or not it is plugged. If there is any debris in the sound tube, use the small wire tool that came with the hearing aid and "pick out" the debris from the tube. Do not push any debris deeper into the tube as this "plug's up" the receiver (the sound speaker). When cleaning the sound tube, use a "picking action" and pull wax or debris out of the tube. Be gentle. Don't hurt the tube. Don't go in too deep. When in doubt, have someone help you.

2. Be Gentle with the battery door.

The battery door on many hearing aids is fragile. Be very careful when you open and close it. If you happen to break the battery door, replacement doors may be available at the hearing aid office.

3. Set the Controls of the hearing aid to the normal "use" positions. Mark these positions

Some hearing aids have multiple controls: a volume wheel, a program selection button, an on-telephone-and-off switch, etc. If you have difficulty selecting the correct volume, or if you need help remembering where to set the on-and-off switch, have your hearing aid specialist mark these positions for you with small dots of red fingernail polish. The volume is marked with two dots; one on the wheel and one on the case. You simply rotate the volume control so the red dots match each other; this sets the volume of your hearing aid to your "best" hearing level.

4. Keep your ears clean.

Many people generate a lot of ear wax which gets into the hearing aids and interferes with the sound transmission. You need to have your doctor remove the wax from your ears on a regular schedule. People generate wax at different rates; so the schedule to have your ears cleaned may be every 3, 6, or 12 months.

5. Keep the hearing aid away from hair spray.

We see many hearing aids caked with hair spray. These patients tell me, "I am very careful when I use hair spray." Yet there is so much hair spray on the aids I can scrape large amounts off with my figernail. The lesson here is, "Always remove your hearing aids when you are applying hairspray."

6. Keep the hearing aid dry. If you perspire, use a "dry" kit.

People tend to be more damp and moist than you realize. Some people put water in their ears every time they take a shower or a bath. This is a mistake. This causes an elevated moisture level in the ear and in the hearing aid. Moisture is a problem for most electronic devices. Help the hearing aid dry each night by leaving the battery door open, and leaving the hearing aid box door open so the hearing aids get more air. If you tend to get moist, it is helpful to get a "dry kit" from your hearing aid specialist.

7. Turn the hearing aid off by opening the battery door when it is not in use.

Be sure the hearing aid is turned off whenever you are not using it. Some hearing aids have an "On and Off" switch. However it is best to open the battery door when the hearing aid is not in use.

8. The hearing aid has feedback (whistles).

Hearing aids have feedback (they whistle) for different reasons; examples include wax in ears, the volume set too high, the case (shell) of the hearing aid is too loose, etc. Feedback can be eliminated so work with your hearing aid specialist to solve the problem.

9. If the aid hurts your ear:

First: be sure the aid is put in the ear correctly. It might be helpful to put a tiny amount of baby oil (not Vaseline) on the ear and on the hearing aid before you insert it. Second, have the hearing aid specialist check to make sure the hearing aid fits perfectly. A good (correct) fitting hearing aid is like a good fitting pair of shoes; there should be no discomfort. Some times the hearing aid has to be rebuilt to correct a fitting. Most of the time it is fairly easy to get a good fitting; other times multiple remakes are needed to get a good fit. Be persistent. Keep working with your hearing aid specialist until the aids are comfortable to wear.

10. Have a "fresh" battery.

Each new hearing aid battery comes with a little "sticker." When you put a new battery into your hearing aid put this little "sticker" on a calendar to keep track of battery usage. Put a letter "R" or "L" beside the sticker on the calendar to denote "Right" and "Left." There is no typical amount of time a battery will last. There are many sizes of batteries and many power levels of hearing aids. Some batteries only last about a week (about 100 work hours) others last more than a mounth (400-500 work hours). If you use a substantial amount of batteries, purchase batteries by the box (carton) to save time and money.

11. "I don't understand the words," (what people are saying).

The sound produced by each hearing aid must be adjusted for each person's hearing. If there is too much or too little amplification in a specific zone, word understanding is poor. Audiologists "tune" hearing aids using real ear tests. These tests measure the sound produced by the hearing aid while it is worn by the patient, and compares this sound (amplification) to a target (the prescribed amplification). Adjustments are made to improve the fidelity of the sound.

12. I hear too much noise

The world is noisy. Many people want to use hearing aids in noisy dinning rooms and other noisy places. This is difficult. Hearing aids have modern computer circuits and noise canceling microphones, however, these do not eliminate much noise. If hearing in a noisy place is important to you, have your audiologist 'tune" your hearing aid to maximize the noise filter (low frequency cut) and maximize the word understanding (high frequency emphasis) zone.

Summary

Hearing aids can provide fantastic assistance to people with poor hearing. However hearing aids take more work and more patience than most people realize. Don't put your time and energy into looking for a "good" hearing aid. Put your time and engery into finding a hearing aid specialist you trust; one that know what they are doing.