Like the inner ear itself, a hearing aid is a delicate device and is sometimes prone to malfunctions. Your child depends on you to keep his or her hearing aid in working order, meaning that you'll need to enact periodic performance tests and sometimes even troubleshoot problems. Here are three signs the hearing aid may give you that indicate the earmold needs repair or replacing.
1. Feedback or other malfunctioning sounds
The hearing aid should not form a feedback loop when properly fitted and inserted in a child's ear. If you detect feedback sounds, there may be a fault in the earmold structure, especially the tubing portion. The audiologist can help arrange tubing repair or replacement if this is the case.
2. Physical damage
The earmold, designed to fit perfectly in your child's ear, can experience compromised integrity if damage occurs. You should inspect the earmold daily during cleaning or performance testing. Perforations, cracks, or a misshapen appearance can compromise stable functioning of the instrument and indicate the need for replacement. The tubing, as noted above, is particularly fragile, so be sure to inspect it carefully if you suspect a problem. Other sound problems such as distortions can also be caused by physical damage. To determine if the earmold is causing the sound problem, remove it from the device while leaving the power on. If the sound stops when the earmold is removed, that's a good indication it was causing the fault.
3. Poor fit
Because your child's ears are growing and changing shape daily, earmolds can really only fit well for a limited period of time. In fact, replacements should occur every few months for toddlers and once per month for an infant under one year of age. But if your child is going through a growth spurt, his or her ear mold may need replacing even more frequently. Analyze the fit each day. A poor fit can cause operational problems (as well as being uncomfortable for a delicate ear), so your child should only wear each earmold for as long as it fits perfectly.
With these three signs fresh in your mind, continue to check the hearing aid over carefully each day. You'll be able to tell more accurately when the earmolds need replacing if you keep an eye out for these issues, and frequent checks will allow you to develop a familiarity with normal hearing aid appearance and functioning so you can tell when something's off. For more information, contact Red Deer Hearing Aid Clinic.
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