How to Clean Hearing Aids?

Hearing aids are with us all day, so cleaning them properly helps you hear better and extends the life of your device. To do this, a few basic care steps are needed, depending on the type of hearing aid — and in this article we’ll show you how to clean yours.

Generally speaking, there are three different types of hearing aids, and each one is cleaned differently, so the first step is knowing which model you have:

• RIC hearing aids, the most common type today, distinguished by having the receiver inside the ear while the hearing aid itself sits behind it.
• In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, which sit inside a shell and are entirely inside your ear.
• BTE (behind-the-ear) hearing aids, which also sit behind the ear, using a thin or thick tube, with only the mould sitting in the outer ear and ear canal.

Once you’ve identified your type of hearing aid, here’s how to clean it.

Cleaning RIC and in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids

ITE and RIC hearing aids need very similar care, since with the receiver in the ear, there’s no listening tube that can get blocked, so cleaning both is fairly similar. Here’s how to clean your RIC or ITE hearing aids, step by step:

1. The first step in cleaning a RIC hearing aid is removing any wax on the outer part. You can do this with a soft, dry cloth, wiped over the outside of the hearing aid. Once you’ve cleaned the hearing aid, use the same cloth to clean the piece that sits inside the ear, whether that’s a mould or a dome. You can do this every day.
2. Next, clean the vents and the receiver’s filter, using a thin brush suitable for the mould or dome’s vents, along with a small pick to remove wax from the filter. Doing this once a week is enough.
3. Finally, the wax filters that protect the receiver from earwax get blocked from time to time. It’s generally recommended to replace them monthly, but you can keep an eye on them yourself, since this can vary a lot depending on the person and how much wax they produce. Wax filters should be changed using the tool included with the replacement filters.

How to clean BTE hearing aids

When cleaning BTE hearing aids, bear in mind that they have a tube connecting the mould or dome to the hearing aid, and this also needs cleaning to prevent blockages. Here’s how to clean your BTE hearing aids:

1. The first step is cleaning the outside with a soft, dry cloth, wiped over the exterior of the hearing aid.
2. Then, clean the outer part of the mould or dome with the same cloth. You can do this every day.
3. The third step should be done whenever you notice signs of dirt in the listening tube or mould, generally recommended once a week. To do this, you need to distinguish between BTE hearing aids with a mould and BTE hearing aids with a thin tube:
   • If you have a mould, detach it from the hearing aid by separating the listening tube from the elbow. Once the mould is removed, the easiest way to clean it is to soak it in water with an effervescent tablet specifically designed to dissolve earwax. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, but generally it should soak for around 30 minutes. Once done, rinse well with water, dry with a cloth, and finish removing any remaining earwax with a bulb syringe. Then reconnect it to the hearing aid.
   • In the second case, the tube is very thin, so you’ll need to use a special cleaning wire to remove earwax and any blockages.

We hope this guide helps you clean your hearing aids. If you have any specific questions about your model, just leave a comment.

Frequently asked questions