Difficulty hearing? Here’s how to know if your hearing aids require repair.
You take care of your hearing aids. You baby them. You charge them nightly and clean them daily.
That’s why it’s so irritating that, suddenly and distressingly, your hearing aids aren’t working properly. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to resolve the issue. Keep in mind: avoiding damage is your number one task (or you might have to get new ones).
Troubleshooting Your Hearing Aid
Every design of hearing aid is different so make use of your owner manual for troubleshooting and maintenance. Here are some things you can check on most models:
- Wax accumulation: Perform a visual inspection of your hearing aid to ensure that there is no wax buildup interfering with normal functionality. Even if you perform regular cleaning, sometimes wax can build up quickly, so it’s worth ticking this off your list.
- Check your battery: Even if you know your hearing aids spent the night on the charger, you’ll want to double-check the battery level. Even rechargeable batteries have to be replaced eventually and sometimes you might not have them inserted fully.
- Keep your microphone clear:Sometimes, the microphone can be blocked. An obstructed microphone can create feedback or can cause your hearing aids to sound broken or silent.
- Check for noticeable damage: Check to see if there are any visible loose components or cracks around the shell of your hearing aid. Cracks, obviously, could indicate more extensive damage (or allow).
Again, consult your owner’s manual on how you should address each of these problems. Self maintenance will be possible in some cases. (But, once again, consult the instructions.)
When Does my Hearing Aid Need Servicing?
If your hearing aid continues to malfunction after you have done basic maintenance and troubleshooting, it’s likely that your hearing aid will require professional repair. Because you rely on your hearing aids for all of your basic conversations and social activities, this most likely doesn’t sound very appealing.
However, it’s worth pointing out that “repair” doesn’t always translate into “mail your hearing aids in” for service and wait a few weeks. There are some scenarios where it can be repaired in shop while you wait.
So in those situations, you will be able to get your hearing aid back in the same day (this is the reason why it’s a smart idea to bring your hearing aid to us so we can determine the damage).
Not all cases can be addressed in house though. And in those cases, you could find yourself needing a backup pair of hearing aids. So if you have an old pair lying around, ask us whether they will serve temporarily. There may even be a loaner pair at our office that you can use until yours come back.
Don’t Put Off Getting Help With Your Hearing Aids
It’s necessary to get your hearing aids repaired as soon as you experience any falter or fading of the audio quality.
That’s because you hope to avoid any downtime. Your overall health and your mental health are impacted by untreated hearing loss. More to the point, once your hearing aids are forgotten in a box somewhere, it’s all too easy to pretend they don’t exist, even as, your hearing progressively worsens.
Your best chance of getting the maximum help from your hearing aids is to keep them functioning at their highest quality. And the easiest way to do that is to clean them, charge them, and, when necessary, take your hearing aids to get some professional assistance.
