Can you sleep in your hearing aids? Our care specialist, David, answers that question in this video. Continue reading below the video for detailed information.
Also, for a limited time, you can take advantage of a BOGO sale on our HearClear GO rechargeable hearing aids! Click here to shop the sale!
Sleeping with your hearing aids in is not recommended. From damaging your hearing aids to experiencing discomfort, it’s not good for your devices or your ears. However, without them, many people worry they won’t be able to hear their children, a smoke alarm in the middle of the night, or their alarm clock in the morning.
There are several reasons we recommend against wearing hearing aids while sleeping, and we’ve outlined a few of them for you below.
Your ears and hearing aids need to air out.
Taking your hearing aids out at night gives both your ears and aids time to breathe. Moisture is one of your hearing aids’ greatest enemies, and unfortunately, our ears naturally produce moisture throughout the day, namely earwax. As a result, wearing aids at night will increase your chances of earwax buildup and aid damage.
To allow your hearing aids to dry out as much as possible, you can put them in a dry aid jar. A dry aid jar is especially beneficial if your ears produce an excessive amount of wax or if you live in a humid area.
It just isn’t comfortable.
While your hearing aids may be comfortable to wear during the day, wearing them to bed may be a different story. When you lay down on one side, especially with behind-the-ear models, you may wake up to find that your ears are very sore in the morning.
Wearing hearing aids at night can also create discomfort through earwax buildup. Without anything in our ears, ear wax and other fluids naturally make their way out of our ears. In contrast, when we wear aids, we block that ear wax from exiting, causing the earwax to build-up.
Earwax buildup is more than uncomfortable: It can also hinder the functionality of your hearing aids and cause feedback. This is because earwax often clogs the tubes; to learn how to clean your tubes, watch this YouTube video.
You might hear feedback.
Wearing hearing aids at night may also be noisy. By laying on your aids, you can cover the microphone and cause feedback. Covering your microphone forces the sound back into the speaker, which creates a whistling sound. This feedback can make it difficult to fall asleep, or to have a restful night’s sleep at all.
Conserve that battery life.
Giving your hearing aids a rest will save battery life. If yours are battery-operated, you’ll save on batteries and, thereby, money. Batteries should be removed at night anyhow to allow the aids to fully air out.
If you have rechargeable hearing aids, this is a great time to plug them in. Rechargeables often take 2 or 3 hours to recharge, so why not restore that charge while you’re getting some sleep?
“But How Will I Hear at Night?”
Despite the benefits of not wearing hearing aids at night, you can still feel uneasy. But with some research, you will find that there are many resources available to you, such as wake-up alarms that can be placed under your pillow or wristbands that vibrate when you have a phone call.
If you still have questions, Advanced Affordable Hearing is happy to help. Contact us now.