Taking The Headache Out Of Ear Cleaning : Hearing Aid Cleaners
Cleaning is an important part of taking care of your hearing aid. Hearing aids are delicate and expensive, so you must take care of them to insure long life.
Cleaning is important for the life of the hearing aid, but also for the health of your ears. Earwax can dry on the surface, and can cause irritation and infections.
IMPORTANT:
Your hearing aid is a sensitive, delicate and expensive electronic device. Keeping this in mind, NEVER get water into the electronics. Make sure that your hands are dry, and keep this in mind with care and cleaning.
How to clean depends on what kind of hearing aid you have.
Cleaning Behind-The-Ear Hearing Aids
BTE hearing aids come with an ear mould and tubing. I know it sounds like lots of trouble, but you should wash them both every night with warm water and soap. Sound like too much work? If so, wash them AT LEAST once a week, but try to do it as close to daily as possible. Make sure they are thoroughly dry before you put them back into the hearing aid.
Make sure you wash only the mould and tubing, and not the elbow. The elbow attaches the tubing to the hearing aid, and it is part of the aid. It can be damaged if it gets wet.
For the aid itself, use a dry cloth or tissue. This should be done daily to keep wax from building up. I can't say this enough: make sure it doesn't get wet!
Cleaning In-The-Ear Hearing Aids
If you have an in-the-ear hearing aid, every time you put it in or take it out, you should wipe it off with a tissue or dry cloth. Audio wipes, which are safe to use with speakers and sensitive electronic equipment, also work.
It is really important that the tissue or cloth be dry. Any kind of liquid is bad for in-the-ear hearing aids. Unlike the BTE, there are no detachable parts to wash.
Most in-the-ear hearing aids come with something called a "wax loop" that keeps wax from accumulating inside the sound bore. If yours does not have one, you can buy a similar item wherever hearing aids and hearing aid goods are sold. This will prevent wax from building up and save you the headache of having to clean it later.
Your hearing aid might also come with a "wax pick," a little toothpick-type thing that you can use to clear out the little bits of wax.
Cleaning Products
While there are not specific cleaners to use on your hearing aids, other than water, soap and tissues, there are some products for sale that will help keep your ears clean and make cleaning easier for you.
- Dri-Aid - This is a kind of dehumidifier that keeps your ear canal from building up wax. Wax likes moisture, so if you can keep your ears dry, you'll have less build-up.
- Sanitized spray - There are spray products you can buy that contain germicide to fight germs.
- Ear cream - It might be good to have a cream on hand that can soothe itchy ears. Especially when you first start wearing a hearing aid, your ears may be unaccustomed to it and itch.
- Cleaning tools - You can get a variety of tools to help clean your ears and hearing aid, such as the wax picks and wax loops (mentioned above), or ear brushes to help keep your ears clean.
- Cleaning kits - There are some deals where you can save money on all the above products by buying a cleaning kit, full of the accessories mentioned above. While it isn't necessary, it may just make cleaning your ears and hearing devices easier for you.
If you decide it's time to get a hearing aid, taking care of it is very important. Hearing aids are delicate and expensive!