Humidity and Your Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are potentially life-changing, but it takes a little vigilance on your part. Protecting your devices from environmental hazards such as humidity is a must.
What Is Humidity?
Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air. Hot air can hold a lot of water vapor, while cold air cannot. How Does Humidity Affect My Hearing Devices? When warm, humid air meets the cooler metal of your hearing devices, including the components inside, condensation forms. Humidity also makes you sweat and prevents that sweat from evaporating. Plenty of that ends up in or on your devices.
What’s the Problem?
Moisture from condensation and perspiration can clog your hearing devices’ ports and openings, build up in tubing, corrode components and battery contact points, and short-circuit the microphones and receivers. In short, moisture is like kryptonite to your hearing aids. A little exposure won’t matter all that much, but prolonged exposure will do a lot of damage and affect the performance of your devices.
Moisture Prevention
- Choose devices with nanocoating or a high IP (water resistance) rating
- Use special hearing-aid cloth covers that allow sound through but keep moisture out
- Exercise during a cooler time of day
- Remove your technology when exercising
- Keep your instruments in a drying device when not in use