Now that you’ve found the right hearing aids, you’re enjoying life so much more than before. In order to continue enjoying life with your new hearing aids, it’s important to care for your hearing aids correctly. Follow these tips for regular hearing aid maintenance, care, and prevention.

1. Before going to bed, make sure to turn your hearing aid off. Turning your hearing aids off before bed will keep the batteries from draining unnecessarily. When you’re not wearing your hearing aids, there’s no reason to put strain on the battery.

2. Sometimes moisture will build up in the hearing aids throughout the day. When moisture builds up, leave the door to the battery open overnight. It’s important that all of the hearing aid’s internal components completely dry out overnight. Keeping your hearing aids dry will prolong their life.

3. Do you find that there’s a lot of moisture in your home on a daily basis? Moisture could affect your hearing aids over time. If moisture isn’t a one-time problem, consider getting a dehumidifier for your home. Another solution to excess moisture in the home is a drying agent that’s silica-based.

4. Make sure to keep the hearing aids away from extreme heat. You should never put your hearing aids in direct sunlight or leave them in your car on a hot day. You should also avoid using a hair dryer when wearing your hearing aids.

5. Just as you don’t want to leave your hearing aids in heat, you shouldn’t leave them in extreme cold, either. Temperature extremes can be bad for your hearing aids. It’s also not healthy for your ears to expose them to extreme cold.

6. Before using things like spray bottle perfume, shaving lotion, powder, insect repellant, or hair spray, remove the hearing aids. Certain toiletries can damage the hearing aid or clog the hearing aid’s small pores. When your hearing aid is clogged, it won’t work as efficiently as possible.

7. When handling your hearing aids, be gentle. It’s important to remember that hearing aids are delicate while you do things like change the batteries. Whenever you have to handle the hearing aids, do so above a soft surface. If you can only work over a hard surface, make sure to cover it with a soft towel first. You may want to cover the surrounding floor in a soft fabric as well. If you drop the hearing aid while working on it, you don’t want it to break by hitting a hard surface. If you do drop your hearing aid on a hard surface, have it looked at by a professional to determine if any unseen damage has been done.

8. Your hearing aids should never be immersed in water. Hearing aids should not be worn while you bathe, swim, shower, or go in the sauna. Do your best to protect your hearing aids from rain.

9. Don’t try to lubricate your hearing aids. If your hearing aids are uncomfortable, visit your doctor to determine if something else may be a better fit.

10. Make sure to always remove your hearing aids before undergoing any medical procedure. Scanning procedures, like CT scans, should only be performed once your hearing aids are removed. The scanners you come across at airports won’t damage your hearing aids and it’s fine to keep them in while you go through the security check.

11. When cleaning your hearing aids, make sure to only use cleaning agents that are meant specifically for hearing aids. Use a soft and damp cloth to clean your hearing aids, but make sure the cloth is not wet. You should never use solvents or rubbing alcohol to clean your hearing aids.