The summertime, for many of us, is a wonderful time where the weather is good and lazy days spent at the beach or in the park or active days spent swimming in lakes and hiking up mountains, with good friends is what life is all about. But, if you wear a hearing aid, summer can also have its challenges, the biggest one being looking after your hearing aid.
Good hearing aid care is really important if you want to ensure that your device is working as optimally as possible for you, but pretty much every hearing instrument specialist you speak to will tell you that moisture is the enemy of hearing aids, which means in the summer months, where it’s more hot and humid and you may be swimming and getting wet more often, you need to pay particular care to your hearing aid.
With that in mind, below, you will find some of our top tips for caring for your hearing aid while still enjoying the summer activities you know and love.
Remember to Remove Them
This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many hearing aid wearers ruin their devices by forgetting to take them out before they get in the water! Modern hearing aids are so comfortable that many people simply forget they are wearing them and impulsively jump into a lake or go for a swim and end up completely ruining them. Be mindful and don’t let this happen to you.
Invest in Hearing Aid Covers
If you have a behind-the-ear device, rather than a device that is fitted in the ear, then one of the biggest challenges you will have this summer is keeping your hearing aid dry when you’re at the beach or the lake or you’re walking past the neighbor’s sprinkler system, for example.
One thing that can really help you with this is hearing aid covers. What are they? Basically, they are like sweatbands for your hearing ais. Typically, they are made from either natural fibers or a water-resistant nylon and spandex blend. The former will help to protect from excessive levels of sweat, humidity and dirt, but the latter is probably a better choice because it will protect you from splashes of water too. Oh, and don’t worry because they will not impair the effectiveness of your hearing aid, so you will still be able to hear with the same level of clarity as you do without using them.
Let Hearing Aids Dry Overnight
Although this is a great summer tip, you should probably do it all year round actually. Simply place your hearing aids in a desiccant jar or hearing aid dryer and allow them to do their job or reducing the moisture from your devices overnight. Do this every night, and your hearing aids are far less likely to be overwhelmed by moisture.
Open the Battery Doors
Leaving the battery doors of your hearing aids open is a great way to keep them dry and prevent excess moisture from penetrating your battery and breaking your hearing aids.
You may also want to remove the battery whenever your hearing aids aren’t in use, for the same reason.
Secure Your Hearing Aids with Clips
If you’re participating in a high-octane summer activity like rock climbing or jet skiing, then using a hearing aid clip to secure your device is a really good idea if you are using a behind-the-ear device. These are basically just lanyards for your hearing aid, which you can attach to your clothing or glasses to help keep your hearing device in place. Once on, you will hardly know that they are there, and you won’t have to worry about losing an expensive hearing aid.
Disinfect Regularly
Regularly disinfecting your hearing aids in the summer is a good way to kill off bacteria caused by excess moisture. So, be sure to use them regularly throughout the summer months, ideally each time you put in or take out your aids. Again, this is something that it would actually be beneficial to do all year round, but which is even more important in the hot and humid summer months when you’re hotter than usual.
Want to know more about caring for your hearing aids in the summer months? The expert hearing instrument specialists at Better Hearing of Madison County can help you. You can call us at (315) 693-3637 and we will help you to make the most of your hearing devices at any time of the year.
