How to look after your hearing aids

Hearing aid maintenance

A hearing aid is a valuable device that needs to be handled with care. It’s always important to clean and maintain your hearing aid in order to get the best sound and keep it functioning for years to come. In general, it’s important to handle your hearing aid carefully. A few tips for handling your hearing aids:

• Lean over the table when inserting and removing you hearing aid to reduce the distance it could drop
• Keep your hearing aids away from high temperatures and moisture
• Take your hearing aids out before showering, swimming, having radiation treatment or using a hair dryer.

Looking for more maintenance tips? Check out these videos.

Cleaning your hearing aids

Whatever the type of hearing aid, water or other fluids should not be used to clean it. Instead, clean the surface of the hearing aid with a soft, dry cloth and use the special brush and tool supplied with the aid to clean around the sound outlet, microphone opening, and vent.

Hearing aids can be affected by ear wax. Even a small amount of wax can cause hearing aids to malfunction. If earwax accumulates around the sound outlet, remove it with the cloth or small brush supplied with your hearing aid. If you let the wax dry overnight, it will be easier to remove.

Hearing aids that are worn in the ear canal naturally come in contact with earwax and therefore usually require more frequent cleaning. It is a good idea to check your hearing aid for wax and dirt every time you remove it from your ear. Cleaning your hearing aid should become part of your daily routine - just like brushing your teeth!

IMPORTANT: Do not insert anything into the microphone itself.

Cleaning CIC hearing aids

Some CIC hearing aids have a special short vent tube with an opening near the sound outlet. Follow these steps to clean it:

• Remove your hearing aid’s battery
• The wax-removing tool for a Widex CIC hearing aid has a long and a short end. There is a tiny ball at the tip of the longer end, which is used for clearing this vent.
• Insert the long end of the wax-removing tool into the opening of the vent near the tip of the hearing aid.
• Turn the hearing aid so that the open battery drawer is facing downwards, and allow any earwax to be pushed out through the hearing aid.
• Use the short end of the wax-removing tool to remove any wax that has accumulated around the microphone opening on the battery drawer.
• Guide the short end of the wax-removing tool through the microphone opening on the battery drawer from the inside.

Cleaning your hearing aid wax guard

A wax guard is a special type of filter that is placed in the sound outlet. The filter helps to prevent wax and dirt from entering the sound channel. If your hearing aid has a wax guard, it is important to remove any wax or dirt that has accumulated around it. Use the soft cloth or small brush for this purpose. Some people produce more earwax than others, so the amount of times your wax guard needs changing will vary.

NOTE: Even with careful cleaning, wax and dirt can become lodged in the hearing aid and cause it to malfunction. This can make your hearing aid sound weak or distorted. If this happens, return your hearing aid to your hearing care dispenser for service.

Drying your hearing aids - with Widex DRY-GO

WIDEX DRY-GO UV™ helps your hearing aids perform at their best. The easy-to-use DRY-GO UV dries and sanitizes hearing aids and earmoulds in just 3 hours. Daily use results in improved acoustic performance, better reliability, and better ear hygiene.

The energy efficient drying station includes a travel case and can be powered by a standard outlet or USB for greater portability. With DRY-GO UV, you can protect your hearing investment and enjoy greater peace of mind.