You’ve been waiting for this all week: a Zoom call with your son and daughter-in-law. You’ll have a great time and catch-up with your cherished family members.
But when you log in you realize, to your horror and frustration, that you can’t hear very well. You’re wearing your hearing aids but things still sound muffled.
You can’t believe how frustrated you are.
Modern marvels muffled
Modern hearing aids are famous for their ability to deliver very clear sounds. So it can be really, really frustrating when that doesn’t happen. You should have clearer hearing when you’re using hearing aids, right? But, recently, every time you’ve turned your hearing aids on, everything has sounded muffled and distorted (and that’s definitely not an improvement over your normal hearing). The issue may not be the hearing aid at all.
What’s causing that muffling?
All right, so, if the hearing aid is functioning correctly, why does everybody sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher? Well, there are a few things you can do to correct the issue.
Earwax
If I had a dime for every issue that earwax has caused (in general, not me personally), I’d be a rich (but still cranky) man. The issue with your hearing aid could be an accumulation of earwax against the microphone. The earwax inhibits your hearing aid’s ability to detect sound and, hence, the amplification is muffled.
You may be able to tell if earwax is the problem by:
- Turning the hearing aid on. The problem is likely to be the microphone (probably wax accumulation) and not the speaker if all of the start-up sounds are normal when you turn on the hearing aid.
- Visually inspect your hearing aids. Don’t just put your hearing aid in without taking a good look at it. Clean it thoroughly if you see any earwax.
It’s also possible that earwax has built up not on your hearing aid but inside of your ear. In those cases, be certain to clean out your ears in a safe way (a cotton swab, by the way, is not a safe way). The troubleshooting will need to continue if the muffled sound persists even after you’ve cleaned your ears and your hearing aid.
Infection
So, if earwax isn’t the problem, the next likely reason is going to be an infection. This could be a normal ear infection. Sometimes, it might be an inner ear infection. In both cases, a hearing assessment is suggested.
Swelling of the ear canal and middle ear can be the outcome of both kinds of infection. This inflammation blocks the transmission of sound and, therefore, your hearing is muffled. Normally, antibiotics will clear this kind of infection up. Once the infection clears, your hearing should go back to normal.
Batteries
It’s also entirely possible that your hearing aid batteries need to be changed. As hearing aids drain, they sometimes begin to sound, well, muffled (you can see why this would be something to check). Even if your hearing aids are rechargeable this can be true. It’s possible, in many situations, that your hearing aids will be crystal clear again after you replace the batteries with new ones.
Hearing loss
It might also be possible that your hearing loss has changed and your hearing aids need to be reprogrammed to compensate for that. Think about scheduling an appointment for a hearing exam if you haven’t had one in the past year. While you’re here getting your hearing aid reprogrammed we can also do an inspection and cleaning.
Don’t let it linger
If you try all this troubleshooting and nothing really helps, it’s definitely worth taking some time to come in and see us. You may find yourself leaving your hearing aids in a drawer and cranking your TV up again if you don’t solve this muffling issue. And all of that could start causing hearing damage again.
Letting it linger is not a good idea. If you can’t clear out some earwax and get hearing again, schedule a hearing examination with us today and get everything taken care of before your next family event. You’ll have more fun if you can actually hear what they’re saying!
