Surprisingly, around 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. The common notion is that ear infections are something that normally affect kids. And it’s accurate that ear infections are more prevalent in kids, but they also happen frequently in adults.
For adults with hearing impairments or hearing loss, ear infections can be particularly inconvenient, as they can interact with hearing aids in some unpleasant ways. Hearing aids can also harbor germs that could result in an ear infection if they are not properly cleaned and maintained.
So, you might be wondering: Can I wear hearing aids while I have an ear infection? You can, but it might not be something you want to do. Hearing aids could aggravate the discomfort and swelling caused by an ear infection. However, there are some steps that those who use hearing aids can take to help prevent and treat ear infection symptoms.
Do hearing aids cause ear infections?
If you’re an adult with hearing impairment and you begin to notice the symptoms of an ear infection, you may begin to wonder: did my hearing aids cause my ear infection? The technical answer is no. But more detail is needed to understand the whole story.
The vast majority of all ear infections are caused by viruses or bacteria that then infect the inner ear. There are quite a few 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. It’s also entirely possible that a virus or bacteria directly infected the inner ear by physical transmission.
For individuals who wear hearing aids, this can be a frequent occurrence. The virus or bacteria hitches a ride on your hearing device and, when inserted, gets access to the inner ear. Proper hearing aid cleaning and maintenance is crucial for this reason. So the virus or bacteria is really the cause of the infection, not the hearing aid itself. But your device could 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? To know what to expect, it’s useful to look at the most common symptoms of an ear infection. In general, ear infections will have the following symptoms:
- Swelling and inflammation
- Vertigo or dizziness
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ears
- Ear pain
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Temporary loss of hearing in some cases
Needless to say, everyone will experience the symptoms in their own way. Typically, you will have obvious inflammation of the inner ear and ear pain in the infected ear. These symptoms can have an adverse interaction with hearing aids for individuals with hearing loss. That’s because the hearing aid is inside the infected ear (at least some of it). Because the ear canal is inflamed and tender, your hearing aids may cause additional discomfort.
Also, with a hearing aid that goes primarily inside the ear canal, fluid drainage can be blocked. Your infection and discomfort might last longer if fluid is trapped in your ear. This will also increase the pressure (and pain) you feel in your ears. When you are wearing your hearing aid, pressure can be even more unpleasant.
This increased moisture can also impede the operation of your hearing aid. 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 an absolutely miserable time.
Ear infection & hearing aid strategies
You may now be thinking: my hearing aids bother me when I have an ear infection… but what can I do? There are several steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting ear infections and to manage the discomfort that an ear infection may cause. Those steps include the following:
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Keeping your device clean can lessen the risk of transferring bacteria or viruses to your ears. If you don’t know how to clean and sanitize hearing aids, talk to us for some instruction.
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: You can take a break from your hearing aids for a few days if you have severe or persistent pain. During this time off, you can pursue other ways 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: If you think that you have an ear infection, speak with your doctor as soon as you can. The sooner you address the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms may be.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: If your ears begin to feel better, but the discomfort from your hearing aids doesn’t go away, consider talking to us to see if you can get a better fit on your devices.
- Practice good ear hygiene: This means routinely cleaning your outer ear and, generally, keeping your ears dry and clean. 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 jam earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. This is the opposite of what you’re likely attempting to accomplish.
Hearing aids are most likely an essential part of your daily life. They help you communicate with loved ones and move about the world more easily. Which means that these little devices can often be difficult to give up, even for a short time. However, taking a break from your hearing aids while you have an ear infection can help you recover from your illness more quickly and more comfortably. 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 notice symptoms. Contact us if you’re wondering how your hearing aid use will be affected by an ear infection.
