ear (ITE) and even smaller completely in Canal  (CIC) hearing aids. However, it is always important to clean and maintain a hearing aid properly to obtain its full benefit; not only to gain the optimum performance from the hearing aid, but also to prolog its life.

Treat your hearing aid with care and do not expose it to knocks or excessive pressure. A good tip is to lean over a table when

inserting and removing your hearing aid to reduce the dropping distance, as it could be damaged if it falls onto a hard floor. When you are not using your hearing aid, turn it off, re- move the battery and put it into its storage case out of the reach of children and pets.

Hearing aids should never be exposed to high temperatures or moisture. Consequently there are situations where you should not wear hearing aids, such as while showering or swimming, during radiation treatment, or when using a hair dryer, hair spray or other sprays.

Whatever the type of hearing aid, water or other fluids should not be used to clean it. Instead, clean the surfaces of the hearing aid with a soft, dry cloth and use the special brush and tool supplied with the aid to clean around the sound outlet, microphone opening and vent.

Hearing aids are extremely susceptible to problems caused by earwax. Even a small amount of earwax can cause hearing aids to malfunction Hearing aids that are worn in the ear canal naturally come in contact with earwax and therefore usually require more frequent cleaning.

Some CIC instruments are fitted with a special short vent tube, whose opening can usually be seen near to the sound outlet. The wax-removing tool for a Widex CIC hearing aid has a long and a short end. There is a tiny ball at the tip

of the longer end, which is used for clearing this vent. Insert the long end of the wax-removing tool into the opening of the vent near the tip of the aid (i.e. the end opposite the battery drawer, as illustrated). We recommend that you first open the battery drawer and remove the battery. Then turn the hearing

aid so that the open battery drawer is facing downwards, to allow any earwax to be pushed out through the hearing aid. If your CIC hearing aid is

equipped with a full-length vent that goes all the way through the shell of the hearing aid, pass the long wax-removing tool available for this type of vent completely through the vent.            Important: Do not insert anything into the sound outlet.  

Wax guard

A wax guard is a special type of filter, which is placed in the sound outlet and is usually designed to be exchanged by the wearer. The filter helps to prevent wax and dirt from entering the sound channel. If your hearing aid is provided with a wax guard it is important to remove any wax or dirt that has accumulated around it. Use the soft cloth or the small brush for this purpose.

As people produce different amounts of earwax, some hearing aid users will have to

change the wax guard quite often, while others perhaps only every other week. Whether your hearing aid is equipped with a wax guard or not, you should never insert anything into the sound outlet.