Often, there comes a time in life where one becomes dependent on machines for things which a large majority of us takes for granted. These problems include a loss of vision which necessitates the use of eyeglasses and a loss in hearing which forces one to use hearing aids. Hearing aids are machines and like all machines, they can fail. The purchase of a hearing aid is a significant investment, so it stands to reason that one understands about all aspects which are involved in the purchase of a hearing aid. One of the major aspects is the lifespan of hearing aids.

Lifetime

The lifespan of a hearing aid depends on a large number of factors such as cleaning and maintenance of the hearing aids, regular checkups with your hearing professional, and proper storage of your high tech hearing aids. The factors which the user of a hearing aid cannot control include things like the faults in the manufacturing process, poor programming and fitting, these are things that the hearing care professional needs to be competent in and be able to provide the hearing aid user. It has been observed that, on average, a hearing device lasts for five or six years, this number can be a little lower or a little higher, but proper care can improve the lifetime of the device and add many more years to it.

Just 5?

Hearing aids are basically tiny computers which include a small microphone, a speaker, a processing unit and a power source and all of this resides in a very small space. The gap inside our ears is not really an ideal place for electronics as there is a lot of moisture and wax continually moving out of the ear canal by design. When this moisture and wax penetrates through the small openings in the hearing aid, such as the holes for the speaker of the microphone the potential for damage is real. Today’s hearing aids are moisture resistant and do a very good job at keeping moisture problems to a minimum, but your care and maintenance is the most important part in keeping your hearing aids operational.

There was a time when hearing aids weren’t so sophisticated as they are these days and they weren’t as accepted as they are today, primarily because of the versatility they offer.

Improving Lifespan

One of the leading problems which reduce the lifespan of a hearing aid is moisture. Just by taking care of this moisture problem, one can greatly increase the lifespan of these products and reduce the number of repairs which can be required because of the problems resulting from moisture.