Surprisingly, around 20% of all ear infections afflict adults. The common idea is that ear infections are something that normally affect children. Ear infections are certainly more prevalent in children but adults do get them too.
For adults with hearing impairments or hearing loss, ear infections can be especially inconvenient, as they can interact with hearing aids in some uncomfortable ways. Additionally, when hearing aids aren’t correctly maintained, they can become a vector for ear infection-causing diseases.
So, you may be wondering: Can I wear hearing aids while I have an ear infection? You can, but it may not be something you want to do. Hearing aids could intensify the discomfort and swelling caused by an ear infection. But people who use hearing aids can take a few steps to treat and possibly prevent ear infections.
Do hearing aids cause ear infections?
You may be wondering if your hearing aid is the cause of your ear infection if you’re an adult with hearing impairment. Technically, the answer is no. But more detail is required to understand the whole story.
Almost all ear infections are caused by bacteria or a virus that gets into the ear. There are a number of paths that bacteria and viruses can take on their way to becoming an infection. In some cases, the inner ear becomes infected after a past illness (for instance, a sinus infection or a cold). An infection may be caused by fluid accumulation in other situations. And it’s also definitely possible for viruses and bacteria to infect the inner ear through simple transmission.
This can happen with some frequency to people who use hearing aids. Your hearing aid accumulates this bacteria or virus and then gets inserted directly into your ear. Correct hearing aid cleaning and maintenance is essential for this reason. So the virus or bacteria is actually the cause of the infection, not the hearing aid itself. But your device might play a role in transmission.
How ear infections interact with hearing aids
So what is the degree of interaction between hearing aids and ear infections? The best way to anticipate what to expect is to look at the most common ear infection symptoms. Here are a few of the most common symptoms of ear infections:
- Temporary loss of hearing in some situations
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Ear pain
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Inflammation and swelling
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Vertigo or dizziness
Obviously, everybody will experience the symptoms in their own way. Usually, you will have noticeable inflammation of the inner ear and ear pain in the infected ear. For those with hearing loss, these symptoms can interact unfavorably with your hearing aids. That’s because the hearing aid is inside the infected ear (at least some of it). Because the ear canal is irritated and tender, your hearing aids might cause additional discomfort.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can prevent drainage. When fluids can’t drain, your discomfort may become prolonged. This will also increase the pressure (and pain) you feel in your ears. This pressure can be even more marked when you’re wearing your hearing aid.
The functionality of your hearing aid can also be impacted by the extra moisture. So your hearing aids aren’t functioning at peak performance and your ears are in pain. Which means that wearing hearing aids when you have an ear infection can be a downright miserable time.
Solutions to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
You may now be thinking: my hearing aids annoy me when I have an ear infection… but what can I do? You can lower your risk of getting an ear infection and address any discomfort that an ear infection might cause by taking a few steps. Those steps include the following:
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: You can take a break from your hearing aids for a while if you have significant or persistent pain. During this time off, you can adopt other means of communicating with your loved ones (such as texting or writing messages on a piece of paper, and so on).
- Talk to your healthcare provider: You should talk to your doctor sooner than later if you think you might be developing an ear infection. Treating a hearing aid as soon as possible will decrease the risk of it becoming severe or prolonged.
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Making sure your devices are clean can help to ensure they aren’t transmitting bacteria and viruses to your ears (or, at least, that it occurs less often.) Ask us for assistance if you’re not certain how to correctly clean and sanitize your hearing aids.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: If your ears start to feel better, but the discomfort from your hearing aids doesn’t recede, consider talking to us to see if you can get a better fit on your devices.
- Practice good ear hygiene: It’s important to keep your ears clean and dry and routinely clean your outer ear. However, you should never stick any object in your ear and that includes cotton swabs. With a cotton swabs, your chance of developing an ear infection increases because you could push earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. This is the exact opposite of what you’re likely attempting to accomplish.
You most likely depend heavily on your hearing aid every day. They help you communicate with family and friends and move around the world more easily. That makes it very difficult to give up your hearing aid even for short periods. However, you will have a speedier recovery from your ear infection if you take a break from wearing them until you heal up. This will help you get back to feeling better quicker.
It’s not uncommon for individuals to get ear infections. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get treatment or try to prevent them. If you have questions about how ear infections might affect your hearing aid use, give us a call today.