Taking Care of Hearing Devices

Deaf children may have different kids of hearing devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. The following can help you answer:

What can we do to help take care of hearing aids?

Keep hearing aids away from heat.

• Do not place them near stoves, radiators, or heat lamps.
• Do not wear the hearing aid when using a hair dryer or hair spray.
• Kids can wear hearing aids outside but make sure they don’t take off their hearing aids and leave it outside.

Keep hearing aids away from cold.

• Hearing aids can work well outdoors even in the winter.
• However, sometimes a snowball may hit the child’s hearing aids and make it wet.
• For playing in the snow, make sure a hat covers the hearing aids or you can hold the hearing aids in a safe place for the child.

Keep hearing aids away from wetness and moisture.

• Hearing aids should not be worn in or near saunas, steam baths, regular baths, vaporizers, or showers. Also, sprinklers or water play with splashing may hurt the devices.
• Perspiration (sweat) can also damage the hearing aid.
• If the hearing aid gets wet, let it dry naturally with the battery door left open or put it in a special dry aid jar for hearing aids. This can be bought from your audiologist.
• Never dry a hearing aid with a hair dryer or put it in an oven of any kind.

Handle hearing aids with gentle care.

• Don’t drop hearing aids and don’t leave the hearing aid in places where pets or children can reach it.
• Do not try to open the whole hearing aid to repair or adjust it. Only an audiologist can open the hearing aid to repair or adjust it.

What can we do to help take care of cochlear implants?

• Children with a cochlear implant will wear an outside speech processor.
• This processor follows the same care as hearing aids.
• The processor should not get hot, cold, or wet. It must be handled gently.
• Most children who recently received cochlear implant can swim.
• Check with the parents or doctors to make sure if it’s safe because it depends on how recent the surgery occurred.
• Children must take their speech processor off before entering the water.
• The cochlear implant is under the skin so it will not get wet.
• There is a magnet attached to the head. This magnet is just like others, and will attach itself to other metal objects (metal doorframes, table/chair legs, etc). Keep an eye on it.