Unfortunately, when cold and flu season rolls around, many hearing aid users find themselves battling the dreaded ear infection. While many people are familiar with a cold causing this type of infection, the reality is that there are many different causes of ear infections. Some others include allergies, excessive mucus, changes in air pressure, smoking, poor ear hygiene, and infected adenoids.

The Difficulty of Ear Infections and Hearing Aids

While having an ear infection can be bothersome for anyone, those who wear hearing aids have it rougher. Ear infections commonly result in swelling in the ear. Some other symptoms include ear drainage, hearing loss, discomfort inside the ear, and pressure inside the ear. All of these symptoms can make wearing a hearing aid virtually impossible or extremely painful.

Treating Your Ear Infection At Home

Most mild cases of ear infections can easily be treated at home. It’s advisable to apply a warm cloth over the ear to ease the pain. You should take over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. You may even find comfort in using over-the-counter ear drops that treat pain. If your ear infection is caused by a sinus infection, you can also benefit from taking over-the-counter decongestants.

Your ear infection should start to go away within a couple of days. If you don’t notice any improvement in your condition within four to five days, it’s advisable to seek medical help. Your doctor will likely prescribe you a course of antibiotics to remedy your ear infection.

When you have an ear infection as you wear hearing aids, your hygiene is very important. Your hearing aids can harness the bacteria from the infection, and you could be reintroducing it back into your ear every day. To prevent this, you should be cleaning your hearing aids multiple times throughout the day.

Tips For Preventing An Ear Infection

When you wear hearing aids, it’s vital that you take the time to practice proper ear hygiene. Your hearing aids can carry a lot of bacteria on them. It’s crucial that they get cleaned every day when you remove them from your ears. You’ll also want to properly clean the wax out of your ears as any wax buildup can put you at a higher risk of developing an ear infection.

Call Us Today

If you’re constantly dealing with repeat ear infections, give our hearing care specialists a call. They can assist you in choosing the right hearing aids to meet your needs and show you how to properly care for them to prevent ear infections.