Troubleshooting Tips for Your Hearing Aids

April 25, 2019

Hearing aids may be small, but they have a lot of sophisticated, high-tech parts that keep your device operational. If you believe they need to be repaired, there are some steps you can take to troubleshoot your issues before you take them in to a professional for more thorough repairs.

With this in mind, here are some tips you can try at home to prevent the need for more serious hearing aid repair in Waterloo, IA:

Clean it: You should regularly clean your hearing aid, because it’s quite easy for earwax and other debris to lodge itself in some of the smaller openings in the device. You should wipe down the hearing aid with a dry cloth or tissue each day, at a minimum. This will prevent this buildup from clogging up the microphone and sound ports. When debris does become trapped in these small ports, this can result in hearing some static or feedback while the device is in use.
Clean your ears: If you notice your hearing aid continually getting clogged up with wax or debris, you may need to spend some time cleaning your ears as well. This can prevent you from having to perform frequent troubleshooting and repairs to your hearing aids. Don’t feel bad about your body producing earwax—that’s completely natural. Just clean your ears with a washcloth when you’re in the shower and that will go a long way toward preventing issues from arising with your hearing aids.
Check to make sure it’s on: You’d be surprised at how many times people bring hearing aids into the shop for repairs when, in actuality, the device just wasn’t turned on. This is most likely to be an issue if you’re new to wearing the device.
Turn up the volume: You might just need to adjust the volume levels so you can get the best results out of your use of the hearing aid. Maybe you accidentally turned down the volume, or you simply did not have it set to the proper level to begin with. Experiment with the volume controls before anything else.
Check the battery: The batteries should be properly positioned inside the hearing aids. If you’re having issues, try swapping in fresh batteries to make sure that’s not the source of the trouble.
Check the tubing: If you’re using a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid model, check the tubing. There are some circumstances in which BTE tubing can wear down and become damaged during the course of regular use. If the tubing does appear to be worn or damaged at all, this is something that can be easily fixed by a hearing aid professional at their office.

If you have attempted these types of troubleshooting methods and are still not getting the proper results out of your hearing aids, then it’s time to seek out more help from a professional. For more information about when you should call for hearing aid repair in Waterloo, IA, contact the team at Potter’s Hearing Aid Service today.