You’re planning a really active summer. You’re obviously going to go to the beach and maybe take a swim. You’ll enjoy some live entertainment, you’ll get lots of exercise jogging or perhaps playing some tennis, then it’s time to get to the grill. Your schedule will be rather full. And you want to be sure your hearing aids are up to the task.
Summer activities like these can be difficult on your hearing aids, but these little helpful devices can be protected without it halting your summer fun.
Summertime hearing aid obstacles
Every season will present unique difficulties with regards to your hearing aids. During the summer, many of those challenges are weather and climate related.
Summer-related challenges might include:
- Dirt and debris: You’re active during the summer. But sand inside of your hearing aid, like beach sand, can result in issues.
- Wind: A strong enough wind can jerk and yank at your hearing aids. Depending on the environment, powerful winds can also introduce dust and debris into your hearing aid.
- Moisture: Whether it’s from swimming, humidity, rain, or just sweat, moisture is nearly always present during the summer. That’s an issue because moisture can be a major issue for hearing aids.
Generally, it’s pretty obvious why these problems are more prevalent in the summer months: you spend more time outside. And you’re more likely to encounter a surprise rain storm or a strong wind when you’re outside so often.
How to keep your hearing aids working great all summer
Your hearing aids are designed to improve your quality of life, to make it possible for you to do more. Most individuals who wear hearing aids will want to use them as much as possible, especially during the summer. This means taking a few extra steps to care for the technology and ensure your hearing aids continue working.
Take measures to keep your hearing aids dry
We’ve established that moisture is the enemy of a well-functioning hearing aid (the more sophisticated the electronics, the worse water becomes). Keep moisture at bay with these tips:
- Don’t wear your hearing aids into the water. Beach day? Great! Don’t forget to remove your hearing aids before swimming. Obviously, this is common sense. So residual wetness in your ears after you get out of the water is the real issue. That’s why you should consider wearing a swim cap and earplugs when you go swimming. This can help keep your ears (and thus your hearing aids) quite dry.
- Open the battery compartment on your hearing aids at night and allow them to air dry. This will help prevent damage from corrosion of the battery.
- When you’re doing something that will cause you to sweat, use a sweatband. Your hearing aids will stay nice and dry because sweat can’t get to them.
- Have a microfiber towel nearby. You can use this to routinely dry your hearing aids. In this way, you can prevent the accumulation of moisture.
- Thoroughly dry your ears. Make sure you aren’t accidentally transferring moisture from your ears to your hearing aids.
Routinely clean your hearing aids
Moisture and heat can both hasten the growth of bacteria. So you should also do a few things to make sure your hearing aids are remaining clean over the summer months. Here are some tips:
- Watch for the long-term accumulation of debris. You can take a few minutes to clear away any debris on your hearing aids while you disinfect them. Sometimes, a professional cleaning is needed.
- Store your hearing aids in a cool and dry spot. Hearing aids, as a rule, don’t handle direct sunlight very well. So keep them off of your dashboard when it’s hot. Instead, make certain they’re nestled away somewhere cool and dry when you aren’t wearing them.
- Routinely sanitize your hearing aids. This can be done with specially produced antibacterial and disinfectant wipes.
Be happy, remain active, hear well
Your hearing aids will help you for a lifetime and they will improve your summer months especially. So whether you’re planning on swimming in the lake, hiking over a mountain, or going for a stroll around the neighborhood, there’s a way to make sure your hearing aids remain dry and keep working.