Hearing Aids Number Two Enemy, Part 1

The #2 Enemy

In the last blog I wrote how cerumen, or ear wax, inside the ear canal was enemy number one for causing a hearing aid to perform poorly or not at all. Second on the list, without any question, is moisture.

If you have worn a hearing aid for any length of time, there’s no doubt you are already aware that moisture can play havoc with the performance of your hearing aid. Let’s think about where we wear our hearing aids. Ninety-nine percent of all hearing aids are worn inside the ear canal or behind the ear with some sort of ear piece that directs the sound into the ear. All models of hearing aids have to endure our body heat and perspiration coming from our bodies.

Then, of course, we are not confined to one environment. Our environments are constantly changing because of the seasons; especially when there are great shifts of moisture caused from the temperature in the atmosphere changing. Additionally, we create our own atmospheric changes by just jumping in the car when it’s hot outside and turning up the air conditioner. Or when it’s cold outside we turn up the heat. Going in and out of office buildings and even our homes creates tremendous changes in the temperature inside our hearing aids. If you live in a tropical environment in the Southern part of the U.S. or close to the ocean, again, moisture can be unusually high. (Continued part 2)

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