Hearing aids are highly sensitive, micro-electronic medical technologies that improve the quality of life of people with hearing loss and strengthen their connection with the world. In the pace of daily life, forgetting your device in the shower, being caught in sudden rain, or a small accident by the poolside are among the situations we encounter quite often.
As an audiologist, in my clinical practice I often witness users panicking because they don't know what to do when their devices get wet, and unfortunately causing irreversible damage through the wrong interventions.
If your hearing aid has come into contact with water or heavy moisture, I have compiled the general, advisory emergency steps you can apply without panicking.
🛑 1. Emergency Response: First Things to Do When the Device Gets Wet
As soon as your device contacts water, I recommend following these steps without wasting time:
- Cut the Power Immediately: Turn off the device as soon as you take it out of the water. The most critical way to prevent the electronic circuits from short-circuiting is to cut the power.
- For Battery-Powered Devices: If your device runs on disposable batteries, open the battery door, remove the battery and discard it. Never reuse a wet battery. Gently wipe the battery compartment with a dry cotton swab and leave the door open.
- For Rechargeable Devices: Never place the device in the charging unit until it is completely dry. Plugging a wet device into the charger can damage the mainboard of both the device and the charging station.
- Dry the Outer Surface: Wipe the water off the outside of the device with a microfibre cloth or a soft tissue. If you can detach parts such as the earmould or tube from the device body, detaching and drying them will help.
🌬️ 2. Drying and Care Process: How to Draw the Moisture Out
Wiping the outer surface does not completely remove the moisture that has seeped inside. To dry the device from the inside and clean the microphone channels:
- Natural Ventilation or a Drying Kit: If available, prefer electric/UV hearing aid drying boxes or storage containers with a dehumidifying capsule. If you don't have a special kit, leave it with the battery door open at room temperature in a dry, airy environment for at least 24 hours.
- Brushing the Microphone Ports: After leaving the device to dry for a while, gently brush the microphone ports with a dry, soft-tipped hearing aid cleaning brush. This step prevents dust and residue that stick to the microphone pores due to moisture from clogging the channel.
🚫 3. The 4 Big Mistakes You Must Never Make
Some mistakes made while trying to save your device cause far more damage than the water itself:
- Do Not Use a Hair Dryer: The high heat from a hair dryer melts the sensitive plastic parts of the device and damages delicate components such as the microphone and speaker.
- Do Not Put It in a Bowl of Rice: The rice method, popular for smartphones, is not recommended for hearing aids. Starch dust and small particles from the rice get into the microphone and speaker grilles, causing blockages.
- Do Not Put It in an Oven or Microwave: Excessive heat completely burns out the electronic circuits.
- Do Not Try to Turn It On Before It Is Fully Dry: Turning the device on before it dries — out of curiosity ("Does it work?") — causes the conductive liquid to short-circuit.
🩺 Audiologist's Advice and the Final Step
24 hours after applying the drying and brushing steps above, you can insert a new battery (or charge the device) and try it.
If the sound is crackling, muffled, or you get no sound at all, oxidation or liquid damage may have developed in the device components (microphone, speaker or chip). In this case, without forcing the device, the healthiest step is to take it to a specialist hearing aid technical service or your clinical audiologist.
With the vacuum drying and under-microscope corrosion cleaning applied at professional care centres, your device can most often be successfully saved.
Wishing you days full of healthy, clear sounds!
Audiologist Damla Gül Karadevren