Summer Activities & Hearing Aid Care

Summer is here in its full glory, and for many people, that encourages a sigh of relief. Not only is this a summer we can enjoy for this year, but also as a sort of recompense for the troubles of twelve months ago. 

While we’re not in the clear from the pandemic just yet, it’s true to say that the easing of lockdown measures and vaccination programs mean that many people are once more seeing hope on the horizon, potentially with the chance to enjoy a lovely, warm summer, newly grateful for being able to do so.

If you’ve recently seen a hearing instrument specialist (HIS) for the application of appropriate hearing aids, the necessity of caring for this device during your usual fun summer activities may be new to you.

In this post, we hope to share a little wisdom to help you care for this delicate instrument, making sure you can enjoy its benefits without having to limit your fun or worry about hearing loss.

Clean, Disinfect and Dry Each Night

It’s very important to make sure that your hearing aid is clean every night. Warmth and moisture always contribute to the growth of bacteria and when you’re out and about in the sun, you’ll be providing both of those constituent elements in vast quantities.

For this reason, it’s important to read into how to clean your particular hearing aid and never forgetting to do it. Desiccant jars are known to be used for drying hearing aids, while sometimes, electric dryers can help perform the job properly. This also functions as secure storage.

Mostly, specially-made disinfectant wipes can be used. They’re cheap to stock up on, so this should cause no trouble. For convenience sake, it can be helpful to set an alarm every night to help remind yourself about this cleaning necessity.

Use Securing Clips to Keep Your Hearing Aid in Place

Hearing aids are generally secure enough, but when running, jumping, or enjoying time in the sun, you may find that they become lose or can even be damaged. For instance, behind-the-ear  (BTE) and in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids can be attached to clothing or glasses using lightweight lanyards.

You may also gain a benefit from using extra ear clips that help provide just a little more protection. This means that if you do end up seeing them fall out of your ears, you won’t have to pay for that mistake as intensely as you may have otherwise. However, it’s also a good idea to be reasonable when enjoying your time outside – you can have a great time without having to put yourself in overly active situations that may compromise the integrity of your hearing instrument.

Avoid Water or Remove Hearing Aids in A Safe Place

Of course, for many people, the enjoyment of the summer comes from being able to enjoy outdoor pools, swimming areas and the ocean without having to freeze solid as a natural consequence.

Yet as we all know from our daily showering routine, we simply can’t get our hearing aids wet in any capacity. That means you might have to put off the cannonballs and triple-dolphin-backflips from the diving board just a little bit longer.

You usually have two options. Avoid water to the degree that you can or remove your hearing aids. The latter option should make sure you store the hearing aids in a safe place, such as a small, clean, safe and hard-shell portable container. Make sure your ears are totally dry before using them again and clean the hearing aid beforehand for good measure. 

Furthermore, make sure you shower after spending time in the water just to rid yourself of chlorine or from the ocean before fitting your hearing aids again. This prevents this instrument from coming into contact with anything other than your ear canal.

Finally, it’s true to say that you need not dive into the ocean to become wet in summer. Perspiration is much more common. Luckily, cleaning wipes and sweatbands you can attach to your behind-the-ear hearing aids can be tremendously helpful and are fitted over the plastic compartment of the device.

So, Where Do You Go from Here?

Ultimately, the quality of hearing aids you use will define how well you can use this instrument – no matter the season. This is why learning more about the Beltone Hearing Center by calling us today at 403-942-4327 can be a great first step.