You’ve taken the tests, you’ve consulted with your audiologist, and you’ve gotten your hearing aids in Monroe, NC—now how long can you expect them to last? Since you’ll most likely be wearing the hearing aids for the rest of your life, the lifespan of your devices is an important thing to know. Keep reading to learn about how long a hearing aid lasts, and what you can do to preserve your hearing aids for as long as possible.
Hearing aids are small, highly technologically advanced devices. Their technology develops so rapidly that, even just five years ago, the majority of devices on the market were what we would consider “baseline” devices today.
Hearing aids, when properly cared for and cleaned, can last four to five years. While that may seem like a short time, hearing aids are just like other technologically advanced devices—like smartphones and computers, they don’t last forever. After around five or six years, hearing aids start to get worn out and will not function as well as you need them to function. Wearing old hearing aids (past the five-year mark) might cause you to miss important advancements in hearing technology.
You might be asking yourself, why don’t hearing aids last longer? Much like your smartphone, you probably use your hearing aid every day—and most people use their hearing aids for about 18 hours a day, until you take them out to go to sleep. Anything that is used that often is not going to have an extraordinary long life. Hearing aids are also exposed to the elements: air, moisture, wind, dirty, and wax for many hours a day. All this use and exposure contributes to the five-year lifespan of hearing aids.  The materials used to make hearing aids also play a part. While plastic, metal, and silicon are durable, they are not invincible. However, you wouldn’t want to be putting steel or titanium hearing aids in your ears!
Taking Care of Your Hearing Aids
The best way to get the most out of your hearing aids is to take good care of them. First, make sure to clean them daily—total lack of cleaning is a surefire way to turn new and old hearing aids alike into less than functioning devices. Everyday cleaning is an important part of hearing aid care, as is having them professionally cleaned at a hearing clinic every few months. It’s important to prevent any wax or moisture buildup which can prematurely age hearing aids.
Also, always store your hearing aids in a cool, dry place. Think about getting a special dehumidifier case, which keeps hearing aids as dry as possible. Always remove the batteries before storing your hearing aids, in order to prevent any battery corrosion on the inside of your devices.
If you’re looking into getting hearing aids in Monroe, NC Perfect Sounds are your leading experts. We even offers competitively priced hearing aid technology to help those in need of hearing aids.