What to Expect When You Need Hearing Aid Repairs

While hearing aid companies do everything that they can to ensure that their products last for many years, they can still be damaged. Moisture is a leading cause of device failure, as is earwax, sitting on them and dropping them on the floor. These can all harm your hearing device and necessitate repair. Often you will find your hearing aid making unwanted whistling noises or distorted sounds. Sometimes, these issues arise from problems that you can troubleshoot yourself, but occasionally, you’ll need professional help with repairs. If you do, here’s what to expect:

What will the hearing health professional do first? 

As a first step, the hearing health professional will check the basics, making sure that you didn’t miss anything when you checked your device yourself. They’ll do things like inspect the battery compartment, make sure that the hearing aid is in the right setting, and check for cracks. 

Don’t worry if you’ve already checked those things already; the hearing health professional is just looking for ways to help you avoid a potentially costly repair. 

If the device doesn’t respond to all the usual troubleshooting, then the hearing professional will conduct a more thorough investigation, trying to isolate the problem. Sometimes it can be an issue with the receiver, the speaker, the processor or a combination of these. Whether you can replace these parts depends very much on the manufacturer. Your hearing health professional will advise you of your options. 

How long do repairs take? 

Sometimes, hearing health professionals can repair your device in front of you in a matter of minutes. Other times, they need to send it away to a lab or the manufacturer. 

Many hearing health professionals can also conduct hearing aid repairs in-house. Typical repair times range anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. The most straightforward repair jobs are those that involve the exterior casing. The most difficult are those that affect the internals. 

If there’s a problem with the onboard software, then you may need to perform a factory reset that wipes all your settings. If so, then your hearing health professional can help you set up your assistive hearing device again. 

How much does it cost? 

The cost of repairing a hearing aid depends on the damage caused, the type of replacement parts needed, and whether your device is under warranty.

In general, it is more economical to get hearing aid repairs than replace the device wholesale. Different hearing health professionals will quote different prices for the same job. 

Sometimes you don’t need to worry about the cost of hearing aid repairs because your insurer covers it. You can also take out separate insurance when you buy your hearing aids and then claim back any repair costs that you incur afterward. 

Can you get hearing aid loans?

Some hearing health professionals will provide you with loan hearing aids you can use while they repair your existing ones if fixing them will take longer than a day. While loan hearing aids won’t provide you with the same quality of experience as your regular devices, they do offer a helpful stop-gap measure. 

If you’re in need of hearing aid repairs, give Hear Here Audiology a call at (727) 289-1212!