Some Common Hearing Aid Issues these days and some Tricks to help yourself!

“My hearing aid isn’t working/no sound is coming out”:

No sound coming from your hearing aid despite being fully charged or having just put a new battery in? If you’ve checked that the battery is in the right way and the volume is turned up and still no sound is coming out, the issue is probably due to a dirty hearing aid or earwax buildup. Check your hearing aid to see if there is visible debris or wax on the behind the ear portion of your hearing aid. Use a soft cloth to wipe away anything you might see.

After this check your wax guard! The wax guard is located behind the dome or earmold that goes in your ear. Pull the dome or earmold off the receiver (the small clear tube) to find a small white circle, if it is filled with wax this is probably the root of your problems. If you have a wax guard kit use the tool inside to take off the dirty wax guard and replace it with a brand new one. If you do not have a wax guard kit then call in to make an appointment for a check and clean so we can fix the problem and get you a kit for next time.

Another issue that might be causing your hearing aid not to work could be a broken receiver. Examine the clear tubing that connects the behind the ear part of your hearing aid to the part that fits inside your canal. If it is overly bent or spinning around easily you probably need a replacement receiver. Unfortunately this isn’t typically an at-home fix and you would need to make an appointment to come in and have the part replaced, which luckily is a quick and easy office fix!

“My hearing aid is whistling”:

Whistling or feedback coming from your hearing aids is usually due to the in-the-ear portion not sealing properly. First, try taking them out and putting them in again to make sure they are fully in the canal and properly inserted. Whistling is caused by sound leaking out of your ear canal from an improper fit, so by making sure you have the correct fit and a tight seal in your ear is vital! Having a custom fit ear mold helps your hearing aid stay in your ear and provides the best seal since it is molded just for you. If you don’t have a custom mold and feel that the dome in your ear isn’t staying in place or fitting properly, make an appointment so your audiologist can get you a better fit.

If you have recently had a change in weight this can also cause a change in the size of your ear canal resulting in the need for a new dome or ear mold.

“My hearing aid keeps coming off when I take off my mask”

This is one of the most common issues we’ve been hearing lately at Hears to U in Minnesota. Unfortunately, we don’t see masks going away anytime soon, but there are a couple ideas we have to help.

First, If you don’t have earmolds this might be the time to get them! Because earmolds are custom fit to your ear they tend to stay in well, so even if the behind the ear portion of your hearing aid pops off when removing your mask, the earmold should stay in place and keep the hearing aid attached to your ear. There are also some in-the-canal hearing aids available and with these you don’t have to worry about your mask since there is no part of it that sits on top of your ear.

There are masks that don’t have loops that go behind your ear. Use a mask that ties on top of your head or can connect behind your neck. That way you don’t run as much a risk flipping the aid off from behind your ear when removing the mask.

Our last recommendation is just to be as careful as can be and practice taking your mask off from top to bottom. If you remove the upper part of the ear loop before the bottom it usually prevents the behind the ear portion from popping off. Although none of these are failsafe from losing a hearing aid, we are hoping they can help!

If you need any other help, we are always happy to help at Hears Hearing & Hearables!! We even sell masks that can help.