To minimise the need for repairs and to preserve the life of your hearing aids, regular and thorough maintenance is essential. Your hearing aids are sensitive devices, often with circuitry worn in the ear canal, and are highly vulnerable to damage from moisture and wax.
If a hearing aid is not maintained properly, wax and moisture damage can lead to:
To avoid any of these changes in the performance of your hearing aids, ensure you clean your devices regularly.
At DWM Audiology, we have a vacuum suction cleaning device, which draws moisture and debris from a hearing aid for a thorough clean. This can restore a malfunctioning hearing aid, so we recommend that our clients come in straight away if their hearing aid is not performing well. For optimal performance, our clients are encouraged to bring their hearing aids in every 3 months or so for this specialised service. No appointment is needed to do this, and we provide this service to our clients free of charge.
Wax guards, wax filters, tubing and ear moulds for behind-the-ear hearing aids need to be replaced regularly. This can be checked while your hearing aids are being cleaned. There are minor charges for these parts after the warranty period has expired.
We will arrange repairs as needed.
Unless you have purchased rechargeable hearing aids, you will be provided with batteries when you are fitted with hearing aids. When they run out, you will need to purchase your own batteries. Make sure you buy fresh batteries of the correct size for your hearing aids. Different sized batteries are colour coded: yellow, brown, orange and blue.
When you remove the batteries, clean the battery contacts in your hearing aids. You can do this with a cotton bud or a clean, dry cloth.
Stale or poor quality batteries will have a reduced life and may result in poor performance from your hearing aids. We stock high quality batteries and with our high turnover, they are always fresh.
Batteries can cause damage to your devices if left in for a long time. If you plan on not using your hearing aids for consecutive days, it is recommended that you leave the batteries out temporarily
We provide guidance to help you care for your hearing aids. Maintenance tools, including a moisture absorbent kit, are provided as part of your hearing aid fitting package.
We provide all our hearing aid patients with:
Is there any wax blocking the filter or output hole in the mould/dome?
Is the microphone blocked?
Is there any moisture or dirt in the tubing (for fully behind-the-ear hearing aids)?
The most common cause is a build-up of moisture in the hearing aid. Bring the hearing aid in to our clinic. The vacuum suction cleaning device at our counter, which will draw moisture and debris from your hearing aid for a thorough clean, can often restore a malfunctioning hearing aid.
If this is a recurrent problem, you may need to use your dehumidifier more often
Hearing aid repairs are arranged through the manufacturer. Loan BTE/RIC hearing aids can be provided while your hearing aid is being repaired.
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