Hearing aids, if you care for them correctly, can last for years. But they stop being practical if they no longer treat your degree of hearing loss. As with prescription glasses, your hearing aids are calibrated to your particular hearing loss, which needs to be checked regularly. If they are programmed and fitted correctly, here’s how long you can expect them to last.
Do Hearing Aids Expire?
Just about everything you purchase has a shelf life. It could take a couple of weeks for the milk in your fridge to expire. A few months to several years is the shelf life of canned products. Within the next few years or so, even your new high-def TV will have to be swapped out. It’s probably not shocking, then, that your hearing aids also have a shelf life.
2 to 5 years is typically the shelf life for a set of hearing aids, although you might want to replace them sooner with the new technology coming out. There are several possible factors that will effect the shelf life of your hearing aids:
- Type: There are two basic kinds of hearing aids: inside-the-ear and behind-the-ear. Five years or so will be the estimated shelf life of inside-the-ear model hearing aids as a result of exposure to dirt, sweat, and debris of the ear canal. Because they are able to remain cleaner and dryer, behind the ear models usually last 6-7 years.
- Care: It shouldn’t be surprising to find out that if you care for your hearing aids, they will last longer. Carrying out regular required upkeep and cleaning is essential. You will get added functional time from your hearing aid in almost direct proportion to time put into care.
- Batteries: The majority of (but not all) hearing aids currently use internal, rechargeable batteries. The shelf life of your hearing aid is considerably influenced by the kind of batteries they use.
- Construction: Materials such as nano-coated plastics, silicon, and metal are used to build modern hearing aids. Some wear-and-tear can be anticipated in spite of the fact that hearing aids are designed to be ergonomic and durable. Despite quality construction, if you’re prone to dropping your hearing aids, their longevity will be affected.
In most cases, the shelf life of your hearing aid is an approximation determined by typical usage. But neglecting to wear your hearing aids might also minimize their estimated usefulness (putting them unmaintained on a dusty shelf, for example, may very well reduce the life expectancy of your hearing devices, particularly if you leave the battery in place).
Hearing aids should also be inspected and professionally cleaned every now and then. This helps make sure that there is no wax buildup and that they still fit properly.
Updating Hearing Aids Before They Wear Out
There could come a time when, down the road, your hearing aid performance begins to decline. And it will be time, then, to begin shopping for a new set. But in some cases, you may find a new pair beneficial well before your hearing aids start to show their age. Here are a few of those scenarios:
- Technology changes: Hearing aids are becoming more useful in novel ways every year. If one of these cutting edge technologies looks like it’s going to help you significantly, it could be worth investing in a new pair of devices sooner rather than later.
- Your lifestyle changes: You might, in some cases, have a specific lifestyle in mind when you purchase your hearing aids. But maybe now your lifestyle changes require you to get hearing aids that are more durable or waterproof or rechargeable.
- Your hearing changes: If your hearing gets significantly worse (or better), the characteristics of your hearing assistance change as well. Put simply, your hearing aids will no longer be calibrated to yield the best possible benefits. In these cases, a new hearing aid might be imperative for you to hear optimally.
You can see why it’s difficult to predict a timetable for updating your hearing aids. Generally, that 2-5 year range is fairly accurate depending on these few factors.
