Hearing Aid Tune-Ups

The sense of hearing plays an important part in our daily lives, and it is difficult to imagine living without it.

Some people experience degraded hearing over time due to medical conditions or some other reason, while other lose them due to accident. For millions of people with difficulty hearing, a hearing aid helps them continue living their normal lives.

But just like most devices that help people go about their lives even with impairment, a hearing aid needs maintenance and tuning up to keep it performing at its peak and help its user maximize its use.

How can we tune up and calibrate hearing aids?

It is embarrassing and annoying when a hearing aid suddenly makes loud squelches of feedback, but more than that, it interferes with better hearing. To solve the problem without turning off or taking out the hearing aid, it is necessary to find the cause.

Hearing aids make feedback sound when they’re improperly fitted in the ear, are turned up too high, are programmed incorrectly or are in need of cleaning or repair. If the underlying problem is solved, the wearer can then focus on the adjustment of the volume.

Here are some useful tips:

• Lower the hearing aid’s volume. Remember that a hearing aid will make unpleasant screeching sound if the high-frequency volume is set too high.
• Bring the hearing aid closer to the ear by pushing it closer. A misplaced hearing aid can cause feedback sound.
• Check the hearing aid for presence of earwax. Earwax naturally occurs in the ear and there is a possibility of it getting in the inside portion of the hearing aid, causing it to make a feedback sound. When this occurs, a healthcare provider can clean the ear.
• Constant screeching may already be an indication that there is something wrong with the hearing aid itself. Eventually the hearing aid will stop working and will be in need of repair.
• If lowering the volume, cleaning or pushing on your hearing aid doesn’t stop the screeching, the hearing aid may need a professional tune-up or reprogramming. Make an appointment for reprogramming the hearing aid.