You enjoy swimming and are all about going into the water. The pool is like your second home (when you were a kid, everybody said you were part fish–that’s how often you wanted to swim). Today, the water sounds a bit… louder… than usual. And then you recognize your oversight: you went in the pool with your hearing aid in. And you aren’t entirely certain those tiny electronic devices are waterproof.
Normally, this would be somewhat of a concern. Normally, contemporary hearing aids are resistant to water to some degree. But a device that resists water is a lot different than a device that’s waterproof.
Hearing aids and water resistance ratings
Keeping your hearing aids dry and clean is the best way to keep them in proper working order. But some hearing aids are made so a little splash now and then won’t be a big deal. The IP rating is the established water resistance figure and identifies how water resistant a hearing aid is.
The IP number works by assigning every hearing aid a two digit number. The device’s resistance to dust, sand, and other forms of dry erosion is delineated by the first digit.
The second digit (and the one we’re really interested in here) represents how resistant your hearing aid is to water. The greater the number, the longer the device will last under water. So a device that has a rating of IP87 will be really resistant to sand and function for about thirty minutes in water.
Some contemporary hearing aids can be really water-resistant. But there aren’t any hearing aids currently available that are totally waterproof.
Is water resistance worthwhile?
The sophisticated electronics inside of your hearing aid case won’t mesh well with water. Ordinarily, you’ll want to remove your hearing aids before you go swimming or hop in the shower or depending on the IP rating, sit outside in overly humid weather. No amount of water resistance will help if you drop your hearing aids in the deep end of a swimming pool, but there are some circumstances where a high IP rating will absolutely be to your advantage:
- There have been occasions when you’ve forgotten to remove your hearing aids before going into the rain or shower
- If you have a heavy sweating problem
- You enjoy boating or other water activities that generate over-spray
- If the climate where you live is rainy or overly humid
This list is only the tip of the iceberg. It’ll be up to you and your hearing specialist to evaluate your day-to-day life and identify just what type of water resistance is strong enough for your routine.
You have to care for your hearing aids
Your hearing aid isn’t maintenance-free just because it’s water resistant. Between sweat-filled runs, it will be smart to make sure that you clean your hearing aids and keep them dry.
You may, in some circumstances, need to get a dehumidifier. In other circumstances, it might just mean keeping your hearing aids in a nice dry place at night (it depends on your climate). But some kinds of moisture can leave residue (sweat among them), so to get the best results, you will also want to take the proper time to clean your hearing aids thoroughly.
If your hearing aids get wet, what can you do?
Just because waterproof hearing aids don’t exist doesn’t mean you should panic if your hearing aid gets wet. Well, no–mostly because getting panicked won’t improve anything anyway. But you need to give your hearing aids enough time to dry out entirely and if they have a low IP rating, we can help you identify if there is any damage.
How much damage your hearing aid has sustained can be approximated based on the IP rating. If you can abstain from getting your hearing aids wet, you will get the best results. The drier your hearing devices remain, the better.
