6 ‘Beat the Heat’ Summer Tips for Hearing Aid Wearers

Although in Toronto this year summer has been mainly mild, there can be days when temperatures soar, sweat pours and air conditioners can barely keep up. But the summer heat can have an effect on not just you but also your hearing devices. If you have the good fortune of coming from a hot climate or like to spend your winters in places like Florida, the Caribbean islands or any place tropical, you too should take a look at the tips below on how to care for your hearing aids when you’re in extreme heat.

1. Avoid direct sunlight exposure. For instance, leaving your hearing devices in a car. Remember when you were little and you used a magnifying glass tilted just so to capture the sunlight and light things you weren’t supposed to on fire? Your windshield can act in much the same way trapping intense heat in your car that can warp and damage the sensitive components housed inside of your hearing aid. So keep your hearing aids off of your dashboard and out of your glove compartment.
2. If you’re looking to get a nice tan outside of the sun and inside the tanning salon – some people want get their base tan on – then be sure to take the hearing aids off.
3. One of the best parts of summer is taking a dip in the pool, or a swim in the ocean or lake. But if you wear hearing devices that aren’t waterproof make sure you take them off and put them in a secure location. And no, water-resistant doesn’t count. Hearing aids that are water-resistant protect your devices from things like excess sweat. If you totally submerge water-resistant hearing aids in liquid you risk damaging their components, as water will enter via the microphone and other vents.
4. Sweating is a necessary evil in your body’s bid to cool itself when it’s hot. A bonus effect of sweating is that it helps remove toxins and dead skin cells from our bodies. So sweating is actually good for you. But sweat is not so good for hearing aids. The salt in our sweat also has a negative effect on the inner workings of hearing aids. Again, if you don’t have waterproof hearing aids you might want to invest in a dryer/dehumidifier for your hearing devices. In addition, this will assist in preventing any ear infections.
5. When the sun is high in the sky and we want to spend the day basking in its warm rays, we often put on sunscreen before heading out. Because of the oils in sunscreen, or even other body lotions for that matter, take extra precaution when applying it to your face, neck and ears. It’s advised that you put your lotion, oils or sprays on first, wait 15 minutes or so for them to fully absorb, then put on your hearing aids.
6. If you’re in a hot climate that’s dry and dusty be sure to regularly use your cleaning brush to clean out any tiny particles that may have found their way onto your hearing aids. As mentioned above more than once, you always want to protect those precious components in your hearing devices because they not only allow you to hear better, they empower you with independence and a better quality of life.