When you wear hearing aids, it’s for a reason – to improve your ability to hear the world around you. You want to fully immerse yourself in conversations with the people you love. If you experience hearing loss and begin to notice that your hearing aids are providing you with less clarity and sound than before, then it’s time to take action and find out whether they need professional repairs.
If you want to learn more about what an audiologist at Alliance Center for Hearing can do to professionally repair your hearing aids, continue reading for more information.
General Troubleshooting
Your first steps in assessing your hearing aids will include a few different tasks, and some of them can be done before changing the batteries. As with any technical device, sometimes the best thing to do is check to see if your hearing aid is turned on. If you cannot readily tell, power it down and then on again. Place it in your ear and test its performance.
Next, try turning up the volume on your hearing aids an increment at a time. Ask someone to speak at their normal volume. If no one is immediately available, use your TV or radio and play them first at their usual volume.
Ensure you are routinely maintaining and cleaning your hearing aids as earwax tends to build up on and in them without proper care. Use a dry cloth to gently wipe any excess dust, debris or wax off of the devices daily. Never use anything wet as moisture can damage the components. Some hearing aid models come with a small brush that you can use to gently brush over and around the ports. Cleaning your ears daily and before inserting the hearing aids each morning will help prevent blockage, as well.
Look for signs of visible damage on all surfaces of the hearing aids. If you see any cracks, dents or points of separation, it is time to call your audiologist.
Check the Batteries
When you contact your audiologist to inquire about repairs, they will ask whether or not you have checked or changed your hearing aid batteries. As such, this necessary step in determining the need for repairs usually begins at home.
Test your hearing aids by placing a fresh pair of batteries in them. Set aside the old ones instead of discarding or recycling them, just in case the problem is not the batteries. If you determine that the batteries were old, then you have a quick solution.
To prevent this from happening in the future, make a recurring calendar entry to change hearing aid batteries on the same date every week or as the hearing aid company, audiologist and battery manufacturer recommend. Add this to a paper calendar, your phone’s calendar app or use a smart home device to set up verbal reminders.
To help preserve the life of hearing aid batteries during storage, be sure to keep them in a cool, dry location that is free of moisture and extreme temperatures or temperature fluctuations.
Check the Tubing
This step will be for those who use the behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. Place your hearing aid on a soft surface and inspect the tubing. The flexible tubes can wear down over time which may cause the hearing quality to diminish or cease altogether.
These tubes are generally easy to replace and can usually be taken care of right in your audiologist’s office.
Call an Audiologist
When the previous steps don’t prove fruitful, it’s time to contact your audiologist. They will likely ask if you have gone through the preceding steps at home. With that information in hand, they will talk you through the next steps in repair and service. Any warranty on your hearing aids will be discussed at this point, as well. Be sure to ask about the repair timeline so you know when to expect your hearing aids to be serviced and returned.
Contact Alliance Center for Hearing Today
Whether you are simply concerned about the quality and functionality of your hearing aids or believe the problem is bigger, your first course of action should always be to contact your audiologist. Call Alliance Center for Hearing today at 701-751-6232 to learn more about how they can help assess your hearing aids and advise you on the need for professional repairs. Your audiologists will talk you through the process and guide you every step of the way so you’ll be back to hearing well again in no time at all.
