Changing the hearing aid filter - instructions & tips
If you want to keep your hearing aid in good working order for a long time, you need to take good care of it. Part of this care involves regularly changing the wax filter. Cerumen, better known as earwax, is produced by every mammal, including humans. As your hearing aid sits in and on your ear, it inevitably comes into contact with earwax. The cerumen filter serves to protect the hearing aids from the secretion.
Why is a wax filter so important?
The ear perceives the loudspeaker of the hearing aid as a foreign body, which it tries to remove with excessive cerumen production. This is why people who wear hearing aids are often affected by excessive earwax production. In fact, earwax is very damaging to the devices - it can contribute to clogging of the speaker, contamination of the batteries or damage to the technology. The wax filter creates a barrier between the ear and the hearing aid to prevent such damage to the hearing aid.
Why does the wax filter need to be cleaned and changed?
The earwax collected by the filter leads to clogging of the wax guard over time. This results in a reduction in hearing ability. So if you want to maintain the optimum hearing performance of your hearing aid, you should clean the devices regularly and change the filter periodically.
How often does the wax filter need to be changed?How often the filter should be changed depends on the individual cerumen production. This is roughly necessary every 4-8 weeks, but can vary greatly. To identify the right time for your hearing aids, you should check your filters for blockages at regular intervals. A reduction in volume or loss of hearing quality can be an indication of blockages and should be checked.
Can I clean my filters instead of changing them?
In principle, it is possible to clean filters and refrain from changing them for the time being, but it is not advisable. For one thing, not all filters are suitable for cleaning. There is also the question of whether it is worth the effort compared to the price of a new filter. It should also be borne in mind that Cerumen filters are manufactured as disposable products. Cleaning should therefore be avoided and an actual change should be carried out to ensure hearing quality.
Changing the wax filter - here's how
How exactly to change the filter of your hearing aid depends on the type of hearing aid you have and whether it is fitted with a shield or a dome. To carry out the change, you will need a small tool (Hearing Aid Tool), which is not always included in the scope of delivery. You may need to purchase this separately. You can find the required material here.
Use one side of the mini tool to remove the old filter from the hearing aid and the other to insert the new filter. You can see how changing the wax guard works in detail in this video.
Changing the cerumen filter - step-by-step instructions
- Take a new filter out of the packaging .
- Place the rod with the side that has a small hook on the old filter
- Remove the old filter .
- Turn the rod 180 degrees.
- Using this side, insert the filter into the same opening from which you removed the old one.