When you depend on a hearing aid to hear the world around you, few things are most frustrating than when they don't work like they are supposed to. Learn how to solve a few common problems that might be plaguing your hearing aids:
Problem One: The Volume of Your Hearing Aids is Suddenly Too Weak
If you suddenly find that the volume of your receiver in canal (RIC) hearing aids isn't loud enough, this can indicate that there is a problem with the dome of your hearing aid. Something might be clogging the dome, such as ear wax, or the domes themselves might need to be replaced.
You can remove the domes from the hearing aids yourself. Once you take the domes off, the wax guard is the part underneath it. If it appears to be coated in ear wax, you have a couple of options.
The first option is to have your ENT specialist replace the wax guards. This is a simple fix that shouldn't take long. Your second solution is to clean the wax guards yourself. If the wax guards are extremely dirty, it is usually best to replace them.
Open-fit hearing aids do not have domes like RIC hearing aids. Instead, they have tubes that can get clogged with ear wax. Examine your tubes, and if you see wax, you can clean the tubes with a small piece of plastic designed to unclog the tubes. Alternatively, you can also have the tubes replaced.
Problem Two: Your Hearing Aids Quit Working
If your hearing aids quit working completely, this usually means that they need a new battery. You can replace the battery yourself, or your audiologist can assist you.
Excessive ear wax build up can make it seem like your hearing aid is not working because it dramatically muffles the sound. If you are positive that the battery is good and inserted correctly, examine the dome or tubes of your hearing aid for ear wax.
Problem Three: Your Hearing Aids are Broadcasting Feedback
Sometimes, you may hear a whistling noise in addition to the noises around you. This is known as feedback. If your hearing aids broadcast feedback, this can mean that they are not properly inserted in your ears. Take them out and try reinserting them to see if it goes away.
Wax buildup can also cause feedback. If you know that they are in your ears correctly, examine the components for wax buildup.
Feedback may indicate that you inadvertently switched the settings of your hearing aids. Check them to see that they are set where they are supposed to be. Check out a website like http://www.drmarkmontgomery.com for more information and assistance.
Share7 December 2017
I knew that my hearing wasn’t as good as it had once been, but I was still upset when my doctor told me that I had a significant hearing loss in both ears, and that I was going to need hearing aids if I wanted to participate more fully in my day to day life. But then I started researching hearing aids. I was thrilled to find out that there were small, barely visible aids that could help me hear without marking me as hearing impaired on first glance. Even better, the hearing aids were much more advanced than I’d thought. The ones that I chose can actually help cancel out environmental noise, like the clatter of a loud restaurant, so that I can focus on conversation with the waitress or the person across the table. My hearing aids have really improved my life.
