It’s mid-January, and winter is in full swing in Bangor. Winter weather can impact the functionality of your hearing aids, and since you rely on these devices to stay connected to the world around you, we want to ensure you know how to care for them during wintry weather.
Winter Hazards to Hearing Aids
There are two dominant elements of winter weather that can affect your hearing aids: moisture and temperature. When your hearing aids are too wet or too cold, you may notice shortened battery life, the devices dying suddenly, staticky or decreased sound quality, sudden volume changes and feedback.
Cold weather brings an increase in humidity and condensation, which can introduce moisture into your hearing aids. Extreme temperature changes, such as walking into a warm building from the cold outside, can cause condensation to form on the inside of your hearing aids. Dampness from a scarf or hat can drip onto your hearing aids. Also, winter weather often brings precipitation in the forms of rain, sleet, snow and hail, which can also get your hearing aids wet.
The other hazard is the chilliness itself. Cold temperatures drain battery life faster and cause the internal components to contract slightly. This contraction doesn’t typically cause lasting damage, but it can result in some disruptions to sound quality and functionality.
Hearing Aid Maintenance
To maintain your hearing aids in good working condition, even in cold weather, it is essential to stay on top of a regular cleaning routine. After you clean your hearing aids thoroughly, dry them using a hearing aid drying kit or electric dryer, even if you don’t see any water on them right away. This will lift latent moisture out of the inside of the hearing aids and prevent further moisture buildup.
As you go about your day, take care to notice when you transition from a cold environment to a warm one and try to mitigate the rapid temperature change. You could take your hearing aids out and put them in their case so they come up to the warmer temperature at a more gradual pace, and wear earmuffs or a headband over your hearing aids while outside to keep them warmer.
Finally, keep more spare batteries with you, since the battery life will be affected by the cold. You may run out of battery sooner than you expect.
Other Ways to Take Care of Your Hearing Aids
Another significant way to take care of your hearing aids in the winter weather is to make a maintenance appointment with your audiologist, especially if you haven’t had one in a while. They can perform a professional cleaning and check for any moisture or cold damage. Call Bangor Audiology today to schedule an appointment.