Hearing aid repairs are unavoidable. With an average lifespan of five to seven years, chances are your devices will need some sort of repairs or upkeep during their use. While hearing aid repairs can be something as simple as replacing cracked tubing, there can be more extensive issues like water damage to the electronic components.

To help keep your devices in optimal shape, try following some of these maintenance tips to keep hearing aid repairs at bay.

1. Keep them away from water

Although some hearing aids are truly waterproof and many are designed to be water resistant, many hearing aids can be severely damaged if they exposed to water. This means that unless you have waterproof hearing aids, you should never wear your hearing aids when you are showering, swimming or walking in the rain. All of these activities can damage your hearing aids, so always make sure you remove them before splashing around.

2. Take them out before participating in contact sports or other vigorous exercise

Some audiologists recommend removing hearing aids before you play a game of football, rugby or other high-contact sports. This is because a tackle or a fall could easily result in your hearing aids falling out of your ear and hitting the ground hard and being damaged. Further, people on the playing field could step on them. Also, if you sweat a lot during heavy exercise, then sweat can build up in your ears and potentially damage the hearing aids.

3. Store in a cool, dry and safe place

You should always store your hearing aids in a cool, dry and safe place. This can help prevent you from accidentally knocking them onto the ground, exposing them to water or otherwise damaging them simply because you forgot they were there. It’s best to keep hearing aids in a storage case and placed out of reach of small hands or furry paws. Additionally, open batteries doors overnight to allow any built-up moisture from daily wear to dry out and further preserve functionality.

Taking care of your hearing aids is crucial to helping prevent unwanted repairs. In the event your hearing aids aren’t functioning properly and you cannot troubleshoot the issues, schedule an appointment with an audiologist and find out if repairs are needed.