Troubleshooting Hearing Aid Issues Can Be Easy-peasy

Hearing aids may be small in size but they are big on technology! These are sensitive instruments that require proper care and maintenance for long-term use. These are also subject to numerous issues, from minor ones like the sound being weak to major ones like pain experienced in the ears.

Before you call your audiologist, however, you may want to check the possible causes and resolve the issues. You can then save on the cost of repair as well as gain a better appreciation of your hearing aids.

Weak or Dead Sound

When you place your customized hearing aids in your ears, you will expect to hear clear auditory signals from your environment. But you may also get weak sound or a dead sound, a quite common occurrence in some older models.

Don’t worry just yet as there are a few effective ways to resolve this issue.

• Check that the hearing aids have fresh batteries in their battery compartment. Replace old and drained batteries with fresh batteries.

• Check that the batteries are properly placed in the slots. The positive and negative terminals should correspond with each other. If not, insert the batteries correctly.

• Check that the hearing aids are free of wax, moisture and other debris. These things clog the hearing aids resulting in their weak or dead sound generation. You can either replace the old wax guards with new ones or clean the receiver and microphone with a brush or pick.

• Check that the hearing aids are actually turned on. If you have telecoil hearing aids, make sure that the mic-telephone switch is in the telecoil position.

• Check the receiver port and the microphone port since these may be blocked. You can replace or clean the receiver port and/or microphone port, whichever is needed.

In all of these cases, a thorough check of the exterior components of the hearing aids will suffice to determine the cause and its possible remedy.

Feedback Sounds

Feedback refers to the buzzing, hissing or whistling sounds that come from the hearing aids when you put them on. Keep in mind that these sounds are different from the phantom sounds of tinnitus. You must then take the time to determine whether the sounds are coming from the hearing aids or from other sources.

A few tips to resolve the feedback issues: 

• Check that the earmolds are properly fitted to your ear in the first place. Customization is vital in getting the most from hearing aids. Consider having your hearing aids re-cased if the other methods don’t resolve the feedback issue.

• Ensure that the hearing devices are properly inserted into your ear canals.

• Check for possible damage in the earmolds. These can include air leaks, cracks in tubing, and cracks in tone hook. You can have the tubing or the tone hook replaced.

Of course, there will be issues wherein professional intervention is a must. You should draw the line at opening your hearing aids since you may be doing more harm than good.

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aid Prescription

http://www.hkhearingspeech.com