How to Clean Your RIC Hearing Aid

What you need

• A soft, dry tissue or cloth
• A clean, dry brush — a soft toothbrush kept just for this works well
• Your charger or a dehumidifier

That's it. No liquids, no wipes, no cleaning sprays.

Every day

1. Wipe the whole hearing aid with a soft, dry tissue.

2. Clean the ear piece right after you take it out, while any wax is still soft. Waiting lets the wax dry hard, and hard wax is much harder to remove.

3. Wipe any sweat or moisture off the charging contacts before you put the hearing aids in the charger. This prevents corrosion.

4. Put them in the charger or a dehumidifier overnight so they dry out.

Once a week

For the best sound quality, do a fuller clean once a week. Gently brush the microphone openings on the body of the hearing aid and the receiver port at the end of the wire, with the hearing aid pointing downward so debris falls away rather than into it.

Once a month

Clean the wax out of your domes once a month, or any time you notice wax on them. If wax will not come out, it is time to change the dome.

Cleaning fixes most sound problems

If your hearing aid sounds weak, muffled or dead, wax is the most likely cause. Clean the dome and brush the receiver port first — that solves it most of the time. If it does not, the wax filter may need replacing, which your provider can do for you.

Professional cleaning

Your Hearing Care Professional can do a thorough deep clean that goes further than home cleaning, and can replace wax filters and custom ear pieces. Ask us how often yours should be done — it depends on how much wax you produce.