You go above and beyond to ensure your hearing aids are well taken care of. When you go to bed, you always put them comfortably on the charger and you clean them daily.
But you get pretty discouraged when your hearing aids suddenly stop working the way they used to. There are a few things you can do to diagnose the issue, luckily. Not doing any additional damage is your top priority so you won’t need to replace them.
Troubleshooting your hearing aid
Naturally, when you first got your nice new hearing aids, you made a point of putting the owner’s manual in a safe place. You’ll want to get it out so you can use it for troubleshooting and, possibly, maintenance. Using your owner’s manual is essential because every model of hearing aid is different.
Here are some things you can check on most models:
- Keep your microphone clear: Check your hearing aid to see if anything is obstructing the microphone. An obstructed microphone can create feedback or can cause your hearing aids to sound broken or quiet.
- Check your battery: Even if you know your hearing aids charged all night, you’ll want to double-check the battery power. If your hearing aid has replaceable batteries, it may not be a bad idea to check if those batteries are correctly inserted or if a new one solves the problem.
- Look for noticeable damage: Does your hearing aid have any noticeable loose components or cracks around its shell? Cracks, clearly, could suggest more significant damage (or let in moisture).
- Wax accumulation: Do a visual inspection of your hearing aid to ensure that there’s no wax accumulation interfering with basic functionality. Even if you undertake routine cleaning, sometimes wax can build up quickly, so it’s worth checking this off your list.
Again, consult your owner’s manual on how you might address each of these concerns. In some cases, you may be able to perform maintenance yourself.
When does my hearing aid require repair?
If your hearing aid keeps malfunctioning after you have performed basic maintenance and troubleshooting, it’s likely that your hearing aid will need to be professionally repaired. That may not always sound desirable, after all, you rely 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).
It’s certainly worth taking note that “repair” doesn’t necessarily mean “mail your hearing aids in for service and wait a few weeks”. In some cases, we can repair your hearing aid in office while you wait.
Or, depending on the level of the damage, you could have your hearing aids back in a few hours.
But rapid repair won’t be possible in every case. A backup set of hearing aids may be required in these situations. Perhaps you have an old pair that will do temporarily in a pinch. We might even be able to let you borrow a pair while you are waiting.
Get assistance with your hearing aids without delay
It’s crucial to have your hearing aid checked and repaired if you start to notice the sound quality is beginning to falter.
Any amount of downtime needs to be avoided. Your mental health and your overall health can be impacted by untreated hearing loss. More to the point, once your hearing aids are ignored in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they don’t exist, all the while, your hearing gets worse and worse.
The best way to keep your hearing working properly is to keep those hearing aids working. Keeping them charged, clean, and when necessary, professionally repaired is the best way to do that.
