Tag Archives: Hearing Aid Fittings

Hearing Aids

Can Cold Weather Affect Hearing Aids?

Can Cold Weather Affect Hearing Aids?

When you’re looking for hearing aids or a hearing aid test, we at Platinum Hearing Aids are here to assist you. As your trusted Detroit hearing aid specialists, it’s our aim to provide comprehensive audiology care. Not only will we provide you with quality products, but we’ll give you all the support you need to ensure that your hearing remains at its highest level possible. To accomplish this, though, you’ll need to always take care of your aids and prevent them from being damaged. Unfortunately, now that we’re approaching the winter season, this can be trickier due to the cold weather.

Man holding a hearing aid in his hand

The Effect of Cold Weather on Hearing Aids

If you wear a hearing aid or you’re considering one, you may be disappointed to hear that the cold weather can affect them. It’s not necessarily that the cold temperature itself that will damage it, but the condensation that occurs due to changes in temperature that can set into a hearing aid and harm it. It doesn’t even need to be snowing or raining for this to occur because moisture is present when there are extreme temperature changes. For example, you may be walking around outside in the freezing cold weather, but when you get back indoors, it could be 50-to-60 degrees warmer inside, which can form condensation on your hearing aids.

Signs That Your Hearing Aid May Have Been Damaged

Moisture can cause damage to your hearing aids by ruining the microphone and receiver and can also clog up the earmold tubing and sound. You’ll be able to notice that your aids have been damaged by spotting the following signs:

  • The sound will either fade out or it will come and go.
  • The hearing aid will cut out when there are loud noises.
  • Sounds are often unclear.
  • Static is commonly present when hearing anything.

Preventing Your Hearing Aids From Being Damaged

Moisture may be hard to avoid when it’s very cold out, but there are still some precautions that you can take to help keep your hearing aids in good working shape:

  • You may want to purchase a dehumidifier or a hearing aid drying kit. You can remove the batteries and keep your hearing aid inside it every night.
  • If it’s raining, use an umbrella. Also, make sure that your ears are covered when it’s snowing out.
  • If your hearing aid gets wet at all, take the battery out immediately.
  • You can purchase sweatbands or spandex covers to help keep them free of moisture.

Contact Your Detroit Hearing Aid Specialists!

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be glad to help in any way that we can. If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment with your Southfield and Allen Park audiologist for hearing aids or a hearing aid test, we encourage you to fill out our appointment request form or give us a call at (313) 381-4810. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Hearing Aids

How to Choose the Right Hearing Aid

At Platinum Hearing Aids, our mission is to help everyone in the Dearborn, Southfield, & Detroit, MI area achieve vibrant, crystal-clear hearing. For those suffering from hearing loss, hearing aids can provide a convenient, effective way to restore hearing – but there are many types of aids available, and it can be difficult to know which is the best for you. Ultimately, it comes down to finding the best aid for your unique situation and the degree of your hearing loss.

Types of Hearing Aids

Man holding a hearing aid in his hand

Hearing aids come in a variety of types and styles, and each is best-suited to a different level of hearing loss. You should choose a design based on the intensity of your hearing loss and how inconspicuous you want your aid to be. Types of hearing aids include:

  • Completely In the Canal (CIC): The smallest and least visible type of hearing aid, these fit entirely into your hearing canal. While they’re almost completely invisible, they can’t correct severe hearing loss, require tiny batteries that can be difficult to handle, and have shorter battery life and fewer features than other types.
  • In The Canal (ITC): This type of aid is custom-molded to your ear and fits partially into your ear canal. While it’s not as covert as a CIC, ITC aids are less visible than many other styles. These aids can contain more features than CIC hearing aids, but they may be difficult to adjust due to size.
  • In The Ear (ITE): An in the ear hearing aid may fill the entire bowl-shaped area of your ear (called a full shell) or only the smaller inner section (half shell). ITE aids are more visible than ITC aids, but they can also correct severe hearing loss and include more robust features.
  • Behind The Ear (BTE): A behind-the-ear hearing aid hooks behind the ear and has a small tube that runs into the molded piece that fits in the ear canal. These aids are generally larger than other models, but also can have stronger amplification and more features – plus, some newer models are slim and barely visible behind the ear. These aids can correct almost any degree of hearing loss.
  • Receiver In Canal (RIC): These aids are essentially the same as behind-the-ear hearing aids, with the only difference being that instead of a tube running into the ear, a tiny wire connects the amplification device to the speaker (receiver), which sits in the canal.
  • Open Fit: This model also uses essentially the same design as behind-the-ear aids, but instead of a tube connecting the amplifier to a molded earpiece, the tube simply sits in the ear and leaves the ear canal open. This allows ambient sound to enter the ear naturally, blending with amplified sound from the hearing aid. This style may be appropriate for people with certain types of hearing loss.

Schedule A Consultation in Detroit

Your hearing is a vital, critical part of your life, and you deserve hearing that’s not just functional, but crystal clear. At Platinum Hearing Aids, our mission is to help you achieve that. Call us today at 313-381-4810 to find out more about the different types of hearing aids available, or request an appointment online to find out which type might be right for you. We look forward to helping you reclaim the freedom of great hearing through high-quality, custom-fit aids.