For many people, admitting and coming to grips with the reality of hearing loss is a tough pill to swallow. Because you recognized that it was best for your health, you made the choice to go and get fitted for a hearing aid by a hearing specialist. Most likely, you quickly realized the benefits one gets by wearing a hearing aid, including the ability to hear speech (even amidst the buzz of background noise), the potential to recover from cognitive decline and the ability to treat tinnitus.

But sometimes, amongst all those life-changing benefits, you get one loud, piercing and shrieking downside. Your hearing aids squeal. The squealing you’re hearing is more commonly known as feedback. It’s like what happens when a microphone gets too close to the sound system, the only distinction is this time it’s directly in your ear. Fortunately for you, this is a problem you can fix relatively simply. Stopping your hearing aid from whistling can be accomplished using the following guidelines:

1. Modify The Fit of Your Hearing Aid

The positioning of the hearing aid in your ear or the earmold it’s connected to is likely the most common reason for feedback. The sound can escape and reverberate through the microphone of the hearing aid if it doesn’t fit right. The consequences of that leakage can be a whistling that’s either intermittent or continuous, depending on how much sound has escaped and how poorly the fit really is. A plastic tube connects some hearing aid models with an earmold. Over time, this piece can harden, shrink or crack, which unseats the earmold from its correct position. If you switch out the plastic piece, you can fix the whistling which is caused by this movement.

2. Get Rid of Excessive Earwax

Earwax is actually good for our bodies, even though, ironically, we usually think of it as unwelcome or even nasty. Dirt and other things are stopped from entering the ears by this gooey substance which acts as a defense. While your ears will self-regulate the amount of earwax you hold, through actions like Talking and chewing, there are times when a buildup of too much earwax can have negative consequences. When you put a hearing aid on top of an extreme amount of earwax, you’re bound to receive feedback. Due to the blockage from earwax, the amplified sound can’t go anywhere and this is the reason for the feedback. With no clear place to go, the sound circles and goes through the microphone once more. There are a few ways to remove an abundance of wax from your ears such as letting a warm shower run into your ears. In order to eliminate undue buildup, however, the best idea is to have your ears properly cleaned by a hearing care expert.

3. Make Sure The Microphone is Uncovered

Often the most obvious answer is the most practical. Have you ever seen someone attempting to take a picture which didn’t come out, only to find that the lens cap was still on? With hearing aids the same thing can happen. Whistling can occur when something is covering the device. You might even get the same result by covering the microphone with your hand or another object, like if you hug someone and bury your ear into their shoulder. This issue should be easy to correct just by uncovering the hearing aid.

Here’s a bonus tip: A new hearing aid might be the best solution. Manufacturers are routinely integrating new hearing aid technology into devices, and we’ve definitely seen modern models alleviate some of these causes for worry. If you’re having issues with whistling from your hearing aids, or you’re interested in finding out more about new hearing technology, call us.