Just as you take your car in for a tune-up, your hearing aids benefit from regular maintenance. Your audiologist can give them a thorough cleaning, inspect and address hearing aid damage and update your audiogram, which can prompt adjustments to your hearing aid settings to keep pace with your hearing loss. All these actions can increase the lifespan of your devices.
Professional Hearing Aid Cleaning
Earwax buildup and moisture accumulation are the two biggest causes of hearing aid malfunctions. Earwax can clog ports and vents, block sound from getting through, cause feedback and affect the fit and comfort of your devices. Water can corrode the battery, short out electrical components and cause physical damage to the hearing aid’s shell. To prevent costly damage, it is critical to keep up with regular cleanings.
Cleaning your hearing aids every night will extend their lifespan. If you schedule regular cleaning appointments with your audiologist, we have specialized tools to reach the nooks and crannies that your microfiber cloth and wax loop canāt reach, and weāre trained and experienced in handling the more delicate parts of your hearing aids. Hearing aid manufacturers typically recommend a professional cleaning every six to twelve months.
Minor Repairs
While your hearing aids are hardy pieces of technology, like all electronic devices, they will begin to degrade over time. Thatās where minor repairs come in. In fact, you can really extend the life of your hearing aids by making sure theyāre serviced often to prevent bigger, more costly issues in the future. Here are some minor repairs we can address in our in-office hearing aid repair center:
- Muffled or distorted sound
- Volume issues
- Battery issues
- Feedback
Adjusting to Changes in Your Hearing
Even with hearing aids, hearing loss will continue to progress, especially if you have presbycusis. You want your hearing aids to address your hearing loss; they cannot do so if you donāt come in regularly to have your audiogram updated and your hearing aid settings adjusted. If your hearing loss has grown more severe in the past couple of years or if youāre experiencing even greater difficulty understanding conversations, we can adjust your hearing aids to make up the difference.
Hearing aids are a significant investment, and you want to get as much life out of them as you can. These are the two main reasons why we encourage you to visit the clinic and get your hearing aids tuned up at least once a year. To schedule an appointment for a hearing aid tune-up, call our office at Waterville Audiology.