Your hearing aids are small but powerful devices that are imperative for keeping you connected to the world around you. However, like any piece of electronic equipment, they’re not indestructible; they can experience technical issues from time to time. This can be frustrating and disruptive, but you may be able to save a trip to the clinic by trying these quick fixes.
Common Hearing Aid Issues
Here are some common hearing aid issues you may encounter. Depending on the cause, all of these can be fixed quickly at home.
- Feedback
- Falling out of your ear
- Power issues (e.g., decreased battery life or spontaneously shutting down)
- Distorted or muffled sound
- No sound
Clean Your Hearing Aids
Your first plan of attack should be cleaning your hearing aids. Earwax buildup is the most common cause of hearing aid issues. Earwax buildup can cause feedback by reflecting sound waves from the speaker out of the ear canal, affect the fit of your hearing aid and clog the speaker. It can cause four out of five of the common issues listed above!
Using a brush or soft cloth, clean the body of your hearing aids, then use a wax removal tool (such as a wax pick or wax loop) to remove earwax from the speakers. Be very careful when working with the speaker. Then check the wax guard and replace it if necessary (wax guards should be replaced every few weeks).
Dehumidify
The next biggest cause of hearing aid issues is moisture exposure. Moisture can wreak havoc on the electrical components inside the hearing aid and the battery. Most issues with the battery and power can be traced back to moisture.
To remove moisture from your devices, place them in a hearing aid dry kit, a small jar with a moisture-absorbing material inside. This material will absorb water from the air in the jar, including from your hearing aids, but this process can take a few hours. If you don’t have a dry kit, you can also use dried rice. If you need to dry your hearing aids more quickly, use a hearing aid dryer, an electric apparatus that safely warms the hearing aids.
Check the Settings
If you’re experiencing sound issues, like distorted, muffled or decreased sound, check your hearing aid settings in the app. There are two things to look for:
- The listening program. Your hearing aid includes some listening programs, both default and custom-made by your audiologist, for specialized scenarios. Your hearing needs at a busy restaurant aren’t the same as in your quiet bedroom, so we use listening programs to switch easily between settings. If your sound quality is distorted or quiet, it could be that you were accidentally switched to a specialized listening program.
- Connections. Check whether your hearing aids are connected to a T-coil or another assistive listening device program, or to another electronic device via Bluetooth®. This may cause your hearing aids to not pick up anything in the moment because they’re trying to connect to something else.
Checking for Bluetooth may also help if you’re trying to troubleshoot issues with the battery. Streaming through Bluetooth can drain the battery faster, so if you’ve noticed a short battery life, look for programs that might be using up the power.
When to See Your Audiologist
Many issues can be dealt with using one or more of the techniques above. However, if you’ve tried everything and you’re still experiencing issues, it’s time to bring them to a professional to be looked at. We have sophisticated tools that can clean the delicate, hard-to-reach areas of your hearing aid, and we can run diagnostic tests to ensure the hearing aids are working as they should. Call Wilmington Audiology Services today to schedule a service and repair appointment.