As the cold weather settles in and you yourself wrap up in a warm blanket with an Honest Coffee Roasters hot chocolate, you may want to consider how best to care for your hearing aids in frigid temperatures.
Approximately 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from the use of hearing aids. These technologically advanced devices with a microphone that collects sound, an amplifier that raises its volume and a speaker that sends it directly into the ear canal. These remarkable devices can clarify speech, suppress background noise and even manage tinnitus symptoms to make communicating with friends and family much more accessible. With all they offer, you probably want to ensure this cold winter weather does not damage your hearing aids.
Let’s take a look at how freezing temperatures can affect your devices and what you can do to combat damage.
Winter and Moisture
The main enemy of good winter hearing aid functioning is moisture buildup in your devices. An errant snowball to the side of the head isn’t the only source of winter moisture. When you go from a warm house to freezing outside temperatures, condensation can build up in your hearing aids, damaging the delicate inner workings of your devices.
How Can You Keep Your Hearing Aids Dry?
A few simple tips for ensuring your hearing aids stay dry and functional this winter include:
- Store batteries at room temperature. Low temperatures can weaken your hearing aid batteries and shorten their lifespan. Keep a few extra batteries inside a warm, dry room to ensure a helpful backup in the case that your current batteries die.
- Use a drying box. Special hearing aid drying boxes help draw moisture out from your devices. Place your devices in a drying box while you sleep at night to prevent moisture accumulation from causing damage.
- Wear earmuffs. Not only do earmuffs keep your ears and hearing aids warm, but they also protect your devices from snow and rain. If you don’t have earmuffs, try wrapping a scarf around your ears when outside.
- Check for signs of damage. Sometimes, even with protective measures, your hearing aids get wet. This may happen when condensation builds up inside your devices without your knowledge. Perform daily checks of your device operations to help you stay aware of their status. A few signs of damage include sound distortion, faded sound, static noises, batteries wearing off more quickly than usual, and your devices shutting down suddenly.
While these hearing aid protection tips can make a huge difference in the functioning of your devices, accidents happen. In the event that your devices sustain damage, contact North Alabama ENT Associates today to make an appointment with one of our specialists for repairs or maintenance.