Surprisingly, around 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. Most individuals think of ear infections as a childhood ailment, something that affects mainly young kids. Ear infections are certainly more prevalent in kids but adults do get them too.
Ear infections can be especially unpleasant for individuals with hearing loss because they can interfere with their hearing aids. Hearing aids can also harbor germs that could lead to an ear infection if they aren’t properly cleaned and maintained.
So, you might be wondering: Can I use hearing aids while I have an ear infection? You can, but it might not be something you want to do. Ear infections can cause substantial inflammation and discomfort in the ear, and your hearing aids may exacerbate those symptoms. But individuals 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 loss. Technically, the answer is no. But in order to get the complete picture we need to look at it in greater detail.
Nearly all ear infections are caused by bacteria or a virus that gets into the ear. There are quite a few paths that bacteria and viruses can take on their way to becoming an infection. In some instances, the inner ear becomes infected after a past illness (for instance, a sinus infection or a cold). An infection might be caused by fluid accumulation in other instances. It’s also entirely feasible that a virus or bacteria directly infected the inner ear by physical transmission.
This can occur with some frequency to people who use hearing aids. Your hearing aid collects this bacteria or virus and then gets inserted directly into your ear. Proper hearing aid cleaning and maintenance is essential for this reason. In other words, the hearing aid itself does not cause the ear infection, the virus or bacteria does. But your hearing aid is involved in this transmission.
Interactions between hearing aids and ear infections
So what is the level of interaction between hearing aids and ear infections? The best way to anticipate what to expect is to examine the most common ear infection symptoms. Generally speaking, ear infections will present with the following symptoms:
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Drainage of fluid from the ear
- Ear pain
- Temporary loss of hearing in some cases
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ears
- Inflammation and swelling
Not everyone will suffer from every symptom, of course. In most circumstances, your infected ear will be painful and there will likely be noticeable swelling around the inner ear. These symptoms can have a negative interaction with hearing aids for people with hearing loss. That’s because your hearing aid will likely (at least in part) sit within the ear canal. Your hearing aids may cause added discomfort as they irritate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can stop drainage. Your infection and discomfort might last longer if fluid is trapped in your ear. The pain and pressure in your ears will be increased because of this. When you are wearing your hearing aid, pressure can be even more unpleasant.
This added moisture can also impede the operation of your hearing aid. So your ears are in more pain and your hearing aid doesn’t really work as well as it should. Which means that wearing hearing aids when you have an ear infection can be a downright miserable time.
Ear infection & hearing aid solutions
So what can you do if your hearing aids are bothering you while you have an ear infection? There are a number of steps you can take to lower your risk of developing ear infections and to address the discomfort that an ear infection may cause. Those steps include the following:
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: If the pain is persistent or severe, it’s all right to take a break from wearing your hearing aid until your ears feel better. During this interim period, 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 hearing specialist: If your ears start to feel better, but the discomfort from your hearing aids doesn’t go away, think about talking to us to see if you can get a better fit on your devices.
- Talk to your healthcare provider: You should speak with your doctor sooner than later if you believe you may be developing an ear infection. The sooner you address the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms will be.
- Practice good ear hygiene: It’s important to keep your ears dry and clean and regularly clean your outer ear. Do not try to stick anything in your ear, however, including cotton swabs. With a cotton swabs, your risk of developing an ear infection increases because you could jam earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. You’re attempting to accomplish the exact opposite.
- 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 sure how to correctly clean and sanitize your hearing aids.
Hearing aids are most likely a crucial part of your everyday life. They help you communicate with family and friends and move around the world more easily. That makes it really hard to give up your hearing aid even for short periods. However, you will have a quicker recovery from your ear infection if you take a break from wearing them until you heal up. That means you can get back to enjoying what you hear faster.
Ear infections are fairly common. But you should still get treatment if you detect symptoms. Contact us if you’re wondering how your hearing aid use will be impacted by an ear infection.