As a swimmer, you enjoy being in the water. The pool is like your second home (when you were younger, everybody said you were part fish–that’s how often you wanted to go swimming). The water seems a little…louder… than usual today. And then you recognize your oversight: you went in the pool with your hearing aid in. And you aren’t really sure those tiny electronic devices are waterproof.
Normally, this would be somewhat of a worry. Normally, modern hearing aids are resistant to water to some degree. But being resistant to water isn’t the same as actually being waterproof.
Hearing aids and water resistance ratings
Keeping your hearing aids dry and clean is the best way to keep them in good working order. But for the majority of hearing aids, it won’t be a problem if you get a little water on them. The IP rating is the official water resistance number and determines how water resistant a hearing aid is.
The IP number works by giving every device a two digit number. The device’s resistance to dust, sand, and other types of dry erosion is delineated by the first digit.
The second digit (and the one we’re really interested in here) signifies how resistant your device is to water. The greater the number, the longer the device will last under water. So a device that has a rating of IP87 will be quite resistant to sand and work for about thirty minutes in water.
Although there are no hearing aids presently available that are entirely waterproof, there are some that can have a high water resistance rating.
Is water resistance worthwhile?
The intricate electronics inside of your hearing aid case won’t mesh well with water. Before you go for a swim or into the shower you will probably want to take out your hearing aid and depending on the IP rating, try not to use them in excessively humid weather. If you drop your hearing aid in the deep end of the pool, a high IP rating won’t do much good, but there are other circumstances where it can be useful:
- You have a passion for water sports (like fishing or boating); the spray from the boat could call for high IP rated hearing aids
- If you have a heavy sweating problem
- There have been occasions when you’ve forgotten to remove your hearing aids before going into the rain or shower
- If the climate where you live is rainy or excessively humid
This is certainly not a complete list. Naturally, what level of water resistance will be enough for your day-to-day life will only be able to be determined after a consultation.
You have to take care of your hearing aids
Your hearing aid isn’t maintenance-free just because it’s water resistant. Between sweat-filled runs, it will be smart to make sure that you clean your hearing aids and keep them dry.
You might, in some situations, need to purchase a dehumidifier. In other cases, it might just mean keeping your hearing aids in a clean dry place every night (it depends on your climate). And it will be necessary to completely clean and remove any residue left behind by some moistures including sweat.
If your hearing aids get wet, what can you do?
If waterproof hearing aids don’t exist, should you panic when your devices get wet? Well, no–mostly because getting panicked won’t help anything anyway. But you need to give your hearing aids sufficient time to dry out entirely and if they have a low IP rating, we can help you determine if there is any damage.
How much damage your hearing aid has sustained can be estimated based on the IP rating. If you can abstain from getting your hearing aids wet, you will get the best results. The drier your hearing devices stay, the better.