My Story:
This is a touchy subject because there are so many different devices out there
for hearing loss; however, this story is only about in-the-ear hearing aids. I
wear Phonak, which I will always advocate for, but I wish there were other
options for my type of hearing aids. When I need to remove my hearing aids to
shower, sleep or simply to clean my ears, I must open the “door” that holds the
battery and pull the hearing aid out of my ear gently. This is because my aids
fit tightly inside my ear (so you can’t see them), which is wonderful but also
difficult at times. When I pull on the door, sometimes the door snaps off the
hearing aid or breaks entirely. We all know that plastic breaks over time, and
unfortunately there are many pieces of a hearing aid that is made from plastic.
When the little plastic doors break, my hearing aid gets stuck in my ear! As
you can image, it is not very comfortable to try and remove an aid from your
ear unnaturally. When I got my current set of hearing aids, there was a plastic
stick-like thing that stuck out of the outside the aid, so I was able to pull
on it to remove it from my ear. This little stick sat perfectly on the inside
of my ear where it was not visible, but I was able to get my fingers around it
to pull. This piece is also plastic and pulling on it so many times caused it
to break off. I will never understand why these devices are made with such a
breakable material. While I love my hearing aids and the company I use, I wish
there were other options to remove the aids from my ears. I am constantly
having to replace the doors (my audiologist is amazing!) and panicking when
things go wrong. This would be a great upgrade to the aids!
