The maintenance of hearing aids is quite simple. You will meet with your hearing care professional periodically for routine maintenance. In the meantime, it is recommended to clean your hearing instruments every day. With a tissue, you will need to wipe your earmold (the portion that enters the ear canal) and the prosthesis itself. The use of a hearing aid cleaner is recommended. This cleaning is simply to prevent earwax build-up on the device and to prevent it from forming on the device and affecting medium-term operation.
BE CAREFUL WITH EAR WAX THAT COULD GET INTO YOUR DEVICES
Most hearing instruments have a filter that prevents earwax from getting into the earpiece. This filter must be changed periodically depending on the production of your ear. For some, it will be once a month, for others every week. Fortunately, this is a very quick handling. (Approx. 10 seconds/device)
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE THE BATTERIES IN YOUR HEARING INSTRUMENTS?
Your hearing instruments use batteries. No, no, no, no! The solar prosthesis does not yet exist! Depending on the model of your hearing instruments, you will need to change them frequently. As quickly as every 3 days for the smallest devices and every month for the largest. Count a maximum of $100 in batteries per year.
There is also the rechargeable technology that can be considered to eliminate the need to replace the battery. Most rechargeable technologies require that you recharge your devices at night.
KEEP YOUR HEARING AIDS DRY
Hearing aids are electronic equipment and are therefore sensitive to humidity. It is therefore wise to use a dehumidifying cup containing a silica gel tablet. This weekly operation will save you long-term worries, but it is not mandatory. It is also useful for trips in the south where the humidity level is higher.
FOLLOW-UP WITH THE AUDIOPROSTHETIST AND AUDIOLOGIST
REST ASSURED THAT YOUR DEVICES ARE ALWAYS WELL ADJUSTED FOR YOU.
Once your hearing aid has been fitted and the post-apparatus appointments have been completed, you will continue your visits to the hearing care professional on a regular basis. These follow-ups are used to perform routine maintenance on your hearing aids:
change the filter;
clean the microphones and receiver;
change of parts;
listening to devices.
It is also time to make some adjustments to the settings. The hearing care professional can use this opportunity to validate the effectiveness of their adjustments and modify them if necessary.
HAS YOUR HEARING DECREASED SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT?
According to your audiologist’s recommendation, a new hearing test will also be required. By redoing a test, you can find out how your hearing loss is progressing. In addition, if a change occurs, we can quickly correct the situation by modifying the adjustments of your devices.
Usually, it is not necessary to change your hearing instruments when your hearing is impaired. The hearing care professional provides flexibility to effectively correct your hearing loss over time.
DON’T LET YOUR HEARING LOSS DICTATE YOUR LIFESTYLE!
In addition to the regular scheduled visits, you may need occasional follow-up. If you start an outdoor training session, you may be bothered by wind noise. The hearing care professional can then adjust the wind noise manager, or simply suggest that you wear a headband. That’s why it’s so important to choose a hearing care professional close to you and whom you can trust!
GREAT ADVANTAGES OF HEARING AIDS THAT WE HEAR LESS ABOUT!
HEARING AIDS REDUCE TINNITUS
Tinnitus affects 30% of the adult population. These whistles or buzzes do not come from external sound sources. Tinnitus is often accompanied by hearing loss. People with it are often inconvenienced and would like to remedy it.
The hearing test is the way to find out if a hearing loss is associated with it. The audiologist can check the frequency and intensity of the tinnitus. She can also determine if an ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultation is necessary. When a hearing loss is noted on the audiogram (a graph representing your hearing loss), a hearing aid is often recommended.
In such a case, the hearing aid plays 2 roles; that of correcting hearing and masking tinnitus.
Amplifying the sound environment masks the tinnitus and distracts the person from the tinnitus. There are also programs in hearing aids, designed to more accurately mask tinnitus. These can be fractal music, white noise or wave noise, for example. Tinnitus becomes less disturbing or in some cases disappears temporarily or permanently.