Surprisingly, around 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. The common idea is that ear infections are something that normally impact children. Ear infections are definitely more common in children but adults do get them too.
For adults with hearing impairments or hearing loss, ear infections can be particularly 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 might be wondering: Can I use hearing aids while I have an ear infection? Overall, the answer is yes, but you might not want to. Ear infections can cause considerable swelling and discomfort in the ear, and your hearing aids might exacerbate those symptoms. However, there are some steps that people who use hearing aids can take to help avoid and manage ear infection symptoms.
Can an ear infection be caused by hearing aids?
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 full picture we need to look at it in greater detail.
The vast majority of all ear infections are due to viruses or bacteria that then infect the inner ear. There are a wide range of vectors that can lead to infection. Often, a previous illness, such as a cold or sinus infection, will lead to an infection of the inner ear. An infection might be caused by fluid accumulation in other instances. And it’s also definitely possible for viruses and bacteria to infect the inner ear via direct transmission.
For individuals who use hearing aids, this can be a regular occurrence. 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. Essentially, the hearing aid itself does not cause the ear infection, the virus or bacteria does. But your hearing aid does play a part in this transmission.
Contact between hearing aids and ear infections
So, how do ear infections and hearing aids interact? 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:
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Temporary loss of hearing in some situations
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Pain in the ear
- Inflammation and swelling
Needless to say, everyone will experience the symptoms in their own way. In most circumstances, your infected ear will hurt and there will likely be obvious inflammation around the inner ear. These symptoms can have an adverse interaction with hearing aids for people with hearing loss. That’s because the hearing aid goes inside the infected ear (at least some of it). Your hearing aids may cause added soreness as they irritate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can prevent drainage. When fluids can’t drain, your discomfort might become prolonged. 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 uncomfortable.
This increased moisture can also impede the operation of your hearing aid. So your hearing aids aren’t working at peak performance and your ears are in pain. Which means that wearing hearing aids when you have an ear infection can be an absolutely miserable time.
Strategies to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
So what can you do if your hearing aids are bothering you while you have an ear infection? You can lower your risk of developing an ear infection and manage 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: If the pain is prolonged or severe, it’s all right to take a break from wearing your hearing aid until your ears are feeling better. You can use alternative methods of communication with family and friends, like texting, in the meantime.
- 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 inside of your ear and that includes cotton swabs. With a cotton swabs, your risk of developing an ear infection increases because you could push earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. You’re trying to accomplish the exact opposite.
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Making sure your devices are clean can help to ensure they aren’t transferring bacteria and viruses to your ears (or, at least, that it occurs less frequently.) If you don’t know how to clean and disinfect hearing aids, talk to us for a quick tutorial.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: Think about coming in to have your hearing aid re-fit if your ear infection goes away but your hearing aid is still uncomfortable.
- Talk to your healthcare provider: You should talk to 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.
Hearing aids are likely a crucial part of your daily life. They help you navigate your world more easily and have better communication with your friends and family. That makes it really difficult 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.
It’s not unusual for people to get ear infections. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get treatment or try to prevent them. Contact us if you’re wondering how your hearing aid use will be affected by an ear infection.