Sensory: Caring for hearing aids
Transcript
Some of your clients might have a hearing impairment, usually related to long term exposure to noise; infections and disorders; some drugs; genetics; or simply their age. Some of these clients will use hearing aids to improve their hearing.
Now, hearing aids don’t reverse hearing loss or address the cause, but they can improve an individual’s hearing comprehension by amplifying the sound or by making it louder.
Traditional hearing aids amplify all sound: speech and background noise (like traffic, background music, and other people talking). This can be really distracting.
Modern programmable hearing aids have a microchip that analyzes the sound and removes background noise.
The hearing aids can also have different programs for different environments like a restaurant, library, park, and so on.
There are many different types of hearing aids such as behind the ear, in the outer ear, in-canal, bone-anchored, or attached to glasses.
All hearing aids have the same basic parts: a microphone that receives sounds and converts them into electrical signals; an amplifier that increases the power of these electrical signals; a receiver that converts the electrical signals back into sound; and batteries.
When caring for clients with hearing aids, there are a few things to remember: Clean the hearing aids daily following manufacturers’ instructions and avoid alcohol wipes; don’t use any hair products or wet the hair of a client while they are wearing their hearing aids; when they are not being used, store hearing aids in a container labeled with the client’s name and room number; keep the hearing aids at room temperature away from heat and moisture; and make sure that there are spare batteries available and replace dead batteries right away.
Remember that without their hearing aids, your client might be unable to hear and understand what’s going on in their environment.
When caring for clients’ hearing aids, you will need gloves, a towel, a washcloth, facial tissues, soft brush, and a container for the devices.
First, to remove the hearing aid, have the client lie on their side or sit with their head turned, so their ear with a hearing aid is facing you. Place a towel under their ear.
Key Takeaways
Hearing aids are delicate devices that require proper care to function optimally and last a long time. As a healthcare provider, you might care for clients who use these devices to compensate for their hearing impairment problem. When caring for clients with hearing aids, it is important to help them clean their hearing aids daily following manufacturers' instructions and avoid alcohol wipes; don't use any hair products or wet the hair of a client while they are wearing their hearing aids; when they are not being used, store hearing aids in a container labeled with the client's name and room number; keep the hearing aids at room temperature away from heat and moisture; and make sure that there are spare batteries available and replace dead batteries right away.