Earwax is your ear’s natural cleaning system for catching and expelling debris. Wearing a hearing aid can disrupt the process and cause wax to build up and even get stuck, which is known as impaction. Whenever excessive wax accumulates, it can affect your device and your ear health. Here’s how to prevent it from happening.  

What You Need to Know About Earwax & Hearing Aids

How Earwax Affects Hearing Aids

Some people produce a lot of earwax while others have hardly any. Although your ear is designed to clean itself naturally through the outward migration of earwax, it’s the most common cause of hearing aid malfunctions. Since the speaker sits right inside the ear canal, it’s important to maintain good hygiene to keep your device working at its best for a long time.  

In-ear hearing aids include a wax guard. This tiny protective shield prevents wax from directly contacting and damaging the speaker and microphone. Without regular cleaning and changing of the guard, material can invade and cause malfunctions. Also, if your ear canal is full of wax, you may begin to experience strange noises from your device as sounds hit the clog, bounce around, and trigger feedback.

How to Keep Earwax from Affecting Your Hearing Aid

When you attempt to clean your ear with a cotton swab or other intrusive means, you risk pushing wax deeper and compressing it, causing impaction. You also risk serious injury. If your ear is blocked, follow your doctor’s advice for safe cleaning. She may manually remove wax or gently irrigate your ear with water. She may also recommend wax-dissolving home kits. In addition, hearing-aid wearers should have their ears checked by a professional every 3 to 6 months. 

It’s also critical to clean your hearing aid daily. If it came with a cleaning kit, including a brush, wax pick, and cloth, follow the instructions. Remember to replace wax guards with fresh ones as directed. Above all, keep your fingers clean and dry before handling your hearing aid. Its delicate components can be damaged by oil and dirt from your fingertips.

If you’re experiencing problems with your hearing aid or your hearing in general, you should see a highly-trained professional as soon as possible. Dr. Angie Kerr of the Northwest Alabama Hearing Clinic in Hamilton, AL, is a licensed audiologist specializing in preventing and overcoming hearing loss. For comprehensive testing and state-of-the-art devices that can change your life, call (205) 952-9944 to schedule your appointment or visit Dr. Kerr’s website today.