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How to Adjust a Hearing Aid

Learning to properly use your hearing aid takes practice. It is common to feel some frustration when you have a difficult time adjusting your hearing aid. However, you can make simple modifications to your hearing device that can help you hear better and improve your comfort.

Things You'll Need

  • Hearing aid
  • Cleaning solution
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Instructions

  1. Adjusting a Hearing Aid

    • 1

      Make sure the hearing aid and the volume is set as low as possible. Pick up the mold using the thumb and index finger. Hold the hearing aid vertically, directing the canal nozzle toward the ear canal and position the mold into the ear canal.

    • 2

      Adjust the hearing aid by rotating the volume controls up with your finger. Rotate the dial up if you want to turn the volume up, or down if you want to decrease the volume. Depending on the hearing aid model, the hearing control may be opposite.

    • 3

      Stop a whistling hearing aid by shifting the position of the hearing aid in your ear. Making sure that the hearing aid fits properly in your ear is important, as it may not sit properly in your ear canal, affecting the way that your ear processes sound.

    • 4

      Remove any wax that is present by using a solution of water, vinegar, and peroxide or purchase an over-the-counter system to remove wax from hearing aids. Wax build-up of the portion of the hearing aid that fits into the ear often causes whistling.

    • 5

      Replace the battery to see if it is causing the whistling. Making this change can help eliminate the cause of whistling noises, as the battery may be going dead.

    • 6

      Change your programming for the hearing aid if you have a pre-programmed hearing aid. Such hearing aids offer settings based on the environment, which help you hear better, but might make you more sensitive to specific noises. Press the memory and switch the settings from a noise to quiet room, or vice versa.

    • 7

      Return to your audiologist if the hearing aid adjustments do not work to determine if it is the right hearing aid for you. If you have gained or lost weight, be sure to speak with the audiologist, as the hearing aid may not be able to sit in your ear canal in the same manner it did during the initial examination.

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