I’m 22 years old and have been wearing hearing aids for most of my life.  But for some reason, I’ve never read a hearing aid instructions manual. Now that I live in California, far away from my audiologist in New York, I’m going to need to be a bit more independent about managing my hearing aids. So I read the manual for my new Oticon Sensei hearing aids. Here are some of its important messages and the comments I have about them, which probably apply to many other types of hearing aids.

  1. “The Sensei BTE [Behind the Ear] 13 is a powerful hearing instrument. If you have been fitted with BTE 13, you should never allow others to wear your hearing instrument as incorrect usage could cause permanent damage to their hearing.” My comment: I already knew this, and I think it’s a point worth emphasizing again. Your hearing aids are for you and not for anyone else!
  2. “The hearing instrument hasn’t been tested for compliance with international standards concerning explosive atmospheres, so it is recommended not to us the hearing aids in areas where there is a danger of explosions.” My comment: again, this is straightforward, because generally anything with batteries can have a risk of explosion, but I think the better strategy is to not go near those places at all. (And if you’re a construction worker, I’d ask for a different work location.)
  3. “The otherwise non-allergenic materials used in hearing instruments may in rare cases cause a skin irritation or any other unusual condition.” My comment: I had the misfortune of experiencing skin irritation a few months ago. Some new earmolds I had were designed differently from what I was used to, causing skin in my inner ear to harden. I had to dig into an old reserve of earmolds and fit those to my hearing aids to comfortably wear them.
  4. “[When turning off hearing aids] Open the battery door fully to allow air to circulate whenever you are not using your hearing instrument, especially at night or for longer periods of time.” My comment: I sort of knew this, but now it’s concrete. From now on, I’ll keep the battery doors open when I put them in the dryer each night. Unfortunately, the manual didn’t specify whether the battery should stay in the compartment or not.
  5. “Hearing instruments are fitted to the uniqueness of each ear […] it is important to distinguish between the left hearing instrument and the right.” My comment: For someone like me, who relies more on one ear for hearing than the other, keeping track of what goes left and what goes right is crucial. I’ve gotten confused several times about this when I replaced earmolds for various hearing aids.
  6. “Although your hearing instrument has achieved an IP57 classification, it is referred to as being water resistant, not waterproof. […] Do not wear your hearing instrument while showering, swimming, snorkeling or diving.” My comment: as usual, one needs to be careful about the distinction between water **resistant versus being *waterproof. *From my own experience, the Oticon Sensei does an excellent job resisting sweat, and I can only remember a handful of times when they stopped working normally during or after a gym session. (As I mentioned before, the same isn’t true for some types of hearing aids.)

I emphasize the importance of reading these manuals because if one is going to be using a hearing aid often, it’s important to know as much about them as possible, and I think this aspect gets glossed over in today’s busy lives. Similarly, don’t forget to learn more about your cars, houses, phones, laptops, and other expensive items — you might learn something useful.