If you wear a hearing aid, it is easy to take it for granted until it breaks or becomes damaged, at which point you will have to pay a significant sum of money to have it repaired or replaced. The good news is that you can prevent costly hearing aid repairs and replacements by following these great cleaning & maintenance tips. Keep in mind that your hearing aid device is a high-tech device with lots of complex electronic parts.

Clean Them with Care

You will be more than likely wearing your hearing all day. You should not be concerned about wearing it out because that is exactly what it is intended for; nonetheless, you should take good care of it throughout the day to ensure that it functions well and that its lifespan is maximized.

Clean them out carefully every night with a soft, dry cloth and use specialist picks and brushes to remove any wax that has built up on the device. Every so often, schedule in a full clean with your audiologist, who can use the opportunity to give them a check over and see if there is any excessive wear or tear or any sign of problems.

You should also take care to keep your ears clean. While you should never insert anything like a cotton bud into your ears to remove wax, gently wiping your ears to remove any excess dirt on the outside can go a long way towards prolonging the life of your hearing aids. If you are worried that you have too much ear wax or you find your hearing devices are continually being clogged up by it, consult with your audiologist.

Don’t Drop Them

Dropping a hearing aid, even from a short-range, can cause it to break beyond repair. That is the worst-case scenario; the best-case scenario is that you will have to pay to have it repaired, which is the most likely scenario. Avoid these ramifications by taking extra precautions to ensure that your device is safely removed when you are not going to be using it. Sit down and put a towel down to catch if it does fall.

Don’t Sleep in Your Hearing Devices

While hearing aids now fit snugly, they are at risk of falling out when you toss and turn in bed at night or you lie on them. Avoid this potential problem by taking them out and keeping them somewhere safe when you are going to sleep.

Remember to Take Them Out When Near Water

Many hearing devices these days are built to withstand water, but that does not imply that they are indestructible in the process. It is generally a good idea to take them out before swimming, bathing or showering. Put it in a safe, dry place – especially if it is a humid environment.

Hearing aid devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with a variety of new features and tweaks that allow you to use them in all sorts of situations and environments. However, proper care and maintenance are still required to avoid repairs.