Exercise can be a great addition to your repertoire of activities, but do you know how to keep your hearing aids protected when you’re staying active? Learn more about keeping your hearing aids safe in this week’s Audicus blog!
Regular exercise is a great addition to any routine and a strenuous, engaging workout can be great for your health. Running, biking and tennis are excellent activities that can help with circulation and overall health.
In fact, lack of activity and unhealthy eating can result in conditions such as obesity, which can actually increase the risk of hearing loss by restricting the auditory nerve and cochlear blood flow.
Unfortunately, intense workouts that leave you sweaty may also put your hearing aid at risk.
Exercise and Waterproof Hearing Aids
Excess sweat from exercise can result in hearing aids and hearing aid batteries sustaining water damage. Hearing aids that sustain water damage may not function as effectively as before or may stop functioning at all.
Waterproof hearing aids and waterproof hearing aid batteries can be exposed to water without getting damaged.
If you decide not to wear your hearing aid during exercise and instead use it after a workout, be sure to shower and dry it off so that it does not come into contact with residual sweat.
Make sure that suntan lotion, insect repellant, and other chemicals you may use when you’re outdoors doing physical activities have been removed before you touch your hearing aid.
You can also help prevent moisture from coming into contact with your hearing aid by using a hearing aid case. Hearing aid cases can protect against moisture, dirt, and dust.
Furthermore, you’re less likely to lose or break your hearing aid if you have a case that you routinely put inside when it is not in use.
Waterproof Hearing Aids and Hearing Aid Damage
Not only can hearing aids and hearing aid batteries be damaged through exercise, they can also be damaged by rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation.
If your device is not a waterproof hearing aid and it ends up getting damaged because of exercise, rain, or snow, there are a number of steps you can take to prevent further damage.
If you believe your hearing aid has been exposed to moisture, place your hearing aids on dry newspaper and allow your hearing aid to air-dry indoors for an entire day. Placing your hearing aid close to a table lamp can help to expedite the process.
Silica gel and rice can function as dehumidifiers that extract moisture from your hearing aid. Place your hearing aid inside a plastic bag filled with silica gel or rice to prevent further damage from occurring.
Setting a blow dryer to a low level and applying it to your hearing aid can also aid in the drying process. You can also store your hearing aid in a dry box to routinely draw out any moisture accumulated through daily activity.
Audicus offers a hearing aid dry box that has both a drying and sanitizing component to keep your hearing aid clean and moisture-free.
Keep your hearing aids safe and be sure to review your hearing aid provider’s policies for returning or replacing hearing aids that have sustained water damage!
By: Aaron Rodriques
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information