Summer is hot and maybe sweaty. How can you protect your aids during summer exercise?
Whether you’re running marathons or just going for a walk in the park, moisture buildup can be a real problem during the hottest months of the year. Both humidity and sweat can introduce water droplets into your device, clogging or shorting out the interior components.
Signs Your Hearing Aid Has A Water Problem
Healthy Hearing outlines a list of symptoms, ranging from your aid cutting out during loud noises to fading sound or intermittent static. You may also encounter corrosion in the battery compartment or moisture in the tubing, both of which you’ll be able to see.
Your aid’s health can gradually diminish before it suddenly stops working, so it’s important to take immediate note of any changes. The more you’re familiar with your device’s baseline sound-processing quality, the quicker you can address any potential problems.
Solutions
- Talk to your audiologist. They’ll know better than anyone else what to do.
- Switch out and test new batteries. Water could simply be trapped between the battery and the contact.
- Invest in a dehumidifier. This is preventative more than anything, but each night, or after each workout, use one of these handy and portable machines to help dry out your aid.
Summer Exercise
- Work out during a cooler part of the day.
- Wear headbands and wristbands to help “catch” your sweat.
- Look into protective covers for your hearing aids. Ear Gear, for example, is a nylon-spandex sleeve that fits over most devices.
- Keep your warranty information handy, and know your coverage (just in case).
To escape the heat, check out our past blog about exercising with aids during the winter.
