How to Clean Your Hearing Aids to Make Them Last

Earwax helps protect the inside of your ears from injury and infection. But it can also clog up the workings of a hearing aid by embedding itself in your device’s receiver or microphone, for instance.

And wearing hearing aids may cause some people to produce more earwax. “The goal of earwax in our body is to keep foreign objects away from the eardrum,” Cavitt says. When you put a hearing aid in your ear, “some people’s bodies see that as something they need to fight with more wax.” 

In fact, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), people with hearing aids are at a higher risk for impacted earwax, which occurs when too much wax builds up. 

Liquid is a hearing aid’s enemy. Because the inner workings of the device must be partly exposed to the elements in order to pick up sound, moisture can easily get inside and cause damage. 

When you go to spots like swimming pools and saunas, keep your hearing aids in a protective case. “Always ask yourself, would you take your phone there?” Cavitt says.

As a habit, when you’re getting ready in the morning, don’t insert your hearing aids until you’ve finished your cleaning and grooming routine. This will help prevent the devices from being splashed with water. (Contact with hair products, such as hair spray or gel, can also damage them.) 

Don’t store your hearing aids in a bathroom, either, because steam from the shower can seep into a device, and there’s plenty of opportunity to accidentally drop one into water, Cavitt says.

In fact, it’s best to keep hearing aids in what’s called a dry storage kit, dry aid kit, or dry box at night. These may be simple (just a container and desiccant) or more sophisticated (an electronic device that circulates air around the aid). If you don’t have a dry storage kit, ask your audiologist or check the website where you bought your OTC aid. You can also check stores that sell hearing aid accessories online or in person, such as pharmacies.

If your hearing aids get wet, use the dry storage kit to dry them. Don’t use a hair dryer or put your hearing aid in a microwave or oven because that will damage the device.

For safety’s sake, Cavitt recommends keeping your hearing aids in your ears all day, when possible. If you take them out midday and pop them into your pocket, for example, they might end up accidentally going through the wash. Also, be careful to keep hearing aids out of reach of pets, who might chew them up or play roughly with them.

If your hearing aids aren’t working quite right, the first thing to do is to give them a good cleaning and make sure they’re dry.

Sound that’s intermittent or full of static may be an indication that moisture has gotten into the batteries, Anderson says. In that case, try new batteries. Squealing feedback from your hearing aids is often a sign of excess earwax, so have your doctor check your ears, Cavitt says. 

If those steps don’t help, call your audiologist. Defective components may be able to be replaced in the office. Or, if necessary, the hearing aids can be sent to the manufacturer for repairs, Cavitt says. If you bought your devices over the counter, contact the manufacturer’s customer service department.