One of the questions that my patients ask is whether they need a dehumidifier (or a dryer box) to use for their hearing aids. Technically speaking a dehumidifier or a dryer box is not a 'must have' for people with hearing aids, but it is a 'good to have' for many.
This article discusses the benefits of using a dehumidifier or a dryer box for your hearing aid and introduces a few models.
Kapak Ultra Violet (UV) dehumidifier and disinfection unit
Is sweating healthy?
Sweating is a natural function of your body when you exercise or have a fever. Although we associate sweat with temperature control, sweat also has numerous other benefits such as helping clear your body of heavy metals, PCBs and BPAs (more on sweating in here).
Hearing aids are exposed to body sweat all the time
Regardless of the style of your hearing aids, they are always in contact with your skin, hence they are subject to moisture and body sweat. The invisible IIC and CIC and ITE and ITC (in the ear and the canal) are more exposed to body sweat as the unit itself is entirely in your ear.
The exposure of your hearing aid to body moisture is higher if you naturally sweat more than an average person, or if you simply use them all the time including while exercising, doing yoga, etc. By design, they are built to resist moisture so it should not be a problem, especially if they are of the newer generation IP68 rated.
If you live in locations with hot and humid climates and you move in and out of an air-conditioned room the condensation of the humid air on and in some models inside the hearing aids adds to the problem.
In my own experience, the biggest risk of exposing your hearing aids to a lot of sweating is the blockage of the little speaker units by moisture. The symptom is that you hear the hearing aids go off and then on again a few minutes (or hours later). You may think that this is a faulty hearing aid, but this could be your sweat blocking the speaker unit's tip which is in your ear canal.
How do the hearing aids dehumidifiers and dry boxes help?
Even if your sweat in the ear canal is not enough to block the speaker unit of your hearing aids there is often some sweat in the speaker unit and on the little silicon dome or your earmould that usually needs to evaporate overnight when you remove your hearing aids or put them in a charger to charge.
If you are the type of person who usually sweats more than average, or the type who uses hearing aids while exercising, or the type who works in or around wet and moist environments, then considering a hearing aid dehumidifier or dry box is highly recommended.
Hearing aid dehumidifiers or dry boxes dehumidify the moisture in your hearing aids. The basic model of such a system is called Dry Box. They take replaceable dryer pills or capsules (see a sample below). Often a pill is good until it loses its colour from Orange (or blue or other colours) to pale yellow or white. At that stage, you need to replace it. The pills can be used inside the charger unit of your hearing aids (e.g. in the Starkey charger box), or in a dry box (see below).
Hearing aid dry box (see it on Amazon.co.uk
What is the optimum option for a hearing aid dehumidifier?
The best hearing aid dehumidifier in my experience is the one provided by the manufacturer. The reason is that it will remove moisture, and disinfect your hearing aids with UV radiation and all of this is while your hearing aids are being charged (of course for rechargeable hearing aids). See a sample from Signia which works for Signia and Rexton hearing aids below. FOr your model of hearing aids please see the Hearing Aids Store section of our website and go to the section for your hearing aid manufacturer, or simply contact us for guidance.
If your hearing aid is not rechargeable, or the manufacturer does not have a rechargeable box with dehumidifier and disinfection features then you can consider a few available that work for in the ear as well as BTE and RIC hearing aids. See below for a few suggestions.
Flow-med Dry Turbo UV – Hearing Aid Drying Box (more info)
Kapak Ultra Violet (UV) dehumidifier and disinfection unit (more info)
How often should I clean my hearing aids? How?
The moisture in your hearing aid if not dried over the night could be a good place for bacteria to grow. Your ear canal is warm, dark and moist so it is already a good place for bacteria to grow. That is why I suggest my patients at least clean up their hearing aids by removing the silicon dome and wiping over all the corners with disinfection wipes. Clinell wipes are one of the best that almost all clinics and NHS practices use in the UK widely.
Clinell wipes for hearing aids
Conclusion
A hearing aid dehumidifier is not a must for hearing aid wearers, but in my opinion, it is a very good device to have. It can help you avoid fungal infection in your ear canal by dehumidifying the hearing aid and disinfecting it with ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
As always, please share your questions at the bottom of this article or contact us if you have any questions about hearing aid dehumidifiers.
References
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