Hearing aids are a significant investment – both in financial cost and time invested. But despite your efforts to protect them, sometimes disaster strikes. Below are some common hearing aid disaster scenarios and how to deal with and prevent them.
Dropping Your Hearing Aid Outside
It’s stressful enough when you lose your hearing aid in your house, but if you drop it outside without realizing it, it could be anywhere.
If you notice your hearing aid is missing and you’re out and about, stop in your tracks and ask those around you to do the same. Starting feeling around your head and neck, checking your hair and collar in case it landed there. Work your way down your body, feeling for whether it is still on your person. Then start checking the ground around you and retrace your steps.
To prevent your hearing aid from falling out, you can invest in hearing aid security clips that keep your devices on your body should they become dislodged. You can also order specially-designed earmolds or ear grips to keep them in place.
Dropping Your Hearing Aid Down the Drain
Some people choose to put in their hearing aids in front of their bathroom mirror. While your reflection may make it easier to insert them correctly, if you drop them, you risk them falling down the drain. Even worse, they could bounce off the sink and fall in the toilet.
If your hearing aid falls down the drain, don’t run the water. Remove the p-trap under the sink with a pipe wrench to retrieve it. If it falls in the toilet, assess the situation. If the water is clean, you can fish it out and disinfect it with an alcohol wipe, and an audiologist can assess for water damage. If it falls in with waste, it is considered a biohazard and must be disposed of as such.
If you must insert and remove your hearing aids in the bathroom, be sure to close the toilet lid and cover the sink with a towel first.
The Hearing Aid Gets Eaten
It happens more often than you’d think that a pet or small child gets ahold of a hearing aid.
If you notice your pet or child has something in its mouth, retrieve it and check for broken pieces or dislodged batteries. If the device is swallowed, contact medical attention immediately, as batteries are toxic.
Try to store your devices on high surfaces or in containers. Keep pets and small children out of a room that has an unattended hearing aid.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call ENT of Georgia.
