You have an active summer planned. Some beach time and lots of swimming no doubt. You’ll do some day-to-day jogging and then maybe take in a baseball game or two before going home to up some tasty dinner. Your schedule will be pretty full. So it’s crucial that your hearing aids are ready.
Summer activities like these can be difficult on your hearing aids, but these little helpful devices can be protected without it slowing your summer fun.
Challenges of hearing aids during the summer
With hearing aids, each season will have unique difficulties. In the summer, most of those tests are weather and climate related.
Summer-related challenges might include:
- Wind: A strong enough wind can jerk and yank at your hearing aids. Depending on the environment, powerful winds can also introduce dust and debris into your hearing aid.
- Debris, sand and dirt: During the summer you’re very active. But when you go to the beach, there’s a good chance you may get some sand inside of your hearing aid, and that may cause problems.
- Moisture: Whether it’s from humidity, swimming, rain, or just sweat, moisture is just about always present during the summer. That’s a problem because moisture can be a huge problem for hearing aids.
Generally, it’s pretty obvious why these problems are more common in the summer months: you’re usually outdoors more. And when you spend more time outside, you’re more likely to encounter a powerful gust of wind or a flash rainstorm.
How to keep your hearing aids in good working order all summer
Your hearing aids are designed to enhance your quality of life, to allow you to do more. Most people who use hearing aids will want to use them as much as they can, especially during the summer. Caring for your hearing aids by taking some additional steps can make that happen.
Keeping your hearing aids dry
Water will damage electronics and the more advanced the electronics, the worse the possible damage. Protect against moisture with these tips:
- Air dry your hearing aids at night by opening the battery compartment. This will help stop the battery from corroding and will decrease damage.
- Don’t swim with your hearing aids in your ears. Beach day? Sweet! Don’t forget to take out your hearing aids before going into the water. Obviously, the majority of people already do this. So residual wetness in your ears after you get out of the water is the real issue. That’s why you should start thinking about using a swim cap and earplugs when you go in the water. By doing this your ears and thus your hearing aids will stay quite dry.
- Thoroughly dry your ears. Make sure you aren’t accidentally transferring moisture from your ears to your hearing aids.
- When you’re doing something that will cause you to sweat, use a sweatband. Your hearing aids will stay nice and dry because moisture can’t reach them.
- Keep a microfiber towel handy. That way, you can dry out your hearing aids all through the day. This stops wetness from building up when you aren’t watching.
Take steps to keep your hearing aids clean
Heat and moisture can both fuel the growth of bacteria. So you should also take a few steps to make sure your hearing aids are remaining clean during the summer months. You can do the following:
- Store your hearing aids in a spot that’s cool and dry. That’s because hearing aids (as a general rule) don’t like exposure to heat and direct sunlight. So keep them off your dashboard on hot days. Instead, make sure they’re nestled away someplace dry and cool when you aren’t using them.
- Watch for the long-term accumulation of debris. As you’re sanitizing your hearing aids, you can also take the time to clean out any debris that might have accumulated. Occasionally, a professional cleaning is needed.
- Routinely sanitize your hearing aids. Specialized antibacterial wipes are available for this.
Be happy, remain active, hear well
Your hearing aids will help you for a lifetime and they will enhance your summer months especially. So whether you’re planning on swimming in the lake, hiking over a mountain, or going for a stroll around the neighborhood, there’s a way to make sure your hearing aids remain dry and keep working.