Hearing aids are amazing, tiny pieces of technology; however, just like almost everything else these days, they can need repairs. This happens through no fault of our own. It is just normal wear and tear, but it can be extremely annoying when it occurs at the wrong time. Sometimes it is a simple fix, such as changing out a dead battery, however, other times it is a major fix, such as a loose microphone, and needs to be sent away to the manufacturer. Whatever the repair may be Heartland Hearing Professionals can help.

Common in-house repairs

Many hearing aid repairs can be fixed in-house by a hearing aid specialist. Using special tools and equipment Heartland Hearing Professional will be able to diagnose and fix many hearing aid problems. If they are unable to fix the hearing aid in-house, upon the patient’s permission, they will send the hearing aid out for repairs to the manufacturer.
Most hearing aids come with a warranty from the manufacturer on new purchases, however, if the warranty has run out a service will be required to be paid to the manufacturer, through the clinic, for services rendered and a new limited warranty will be applied to the repair. For some in-house repairs, a small fee may be required as well, depending on services provided.

The following is a list of common in-house repairs:

Battery change: Many hearing aids have batteries that they run on and it can be an easy mistake to forget to change the battery. A small fee for the new battery may be applied.
Tubing change: BTE hearing aids need to have the tubing that goes from the earmold to the hearing aid behind the ear changed from time to time due to the age of the tubing or moisture build-up in the tubing. There usually is a small fee to cover the cost of the tubing.
Program adjustment: Sometimes it may seem like a hearing aid is not working because the programs have changed or the individuals hearing has changed. A quick hearing test and evaluation of the programs in the hearing aid can determine if there is a discrepancy that needs to be corrected.
Wax build-up: Wax build-up in a hearing aid is almost inevitable. Hearing aids should be cleaned daily, but sometimes wax still manages to build-up on a hearing aid and a professional cleaning is required.
Fit problems: The ear is constantly changing and thus can wreak havoc, sometimes, on the fit of a hearing aid in one’s ears. If there is a fit problem it can cause sore spots in the ear canal as well as causing feedback or a whistling sound. A slight adjustment to the earmold may be all that is required to fix the fit problem, however, sometimes a new earmold impression may need to be taken to fix the fit problem.

It should be noted that electronic or internal repairs to the hearing aid are sent out to the manufacturer to repair.