It might be a surprise to many people that roughly 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. The common idea is that ear infections are something that normally affect children. 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 result in 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? In general, 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 may exacerbate those symptoms. But individuals who use hearing aids can take a few steps to manage 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. The technical answer is no. But in order to get the complete picture we have to view it in greater detail.
The vast majority of all ear infections are caused by viruses or bacteria that then infect the inner ear. There are a wide range of vectors that can lead to infection. In some cases, the inner ear becomes infected after a previous illness (for example, a sinus infection or a cold). An infection might be caused by fluid buildup in other instances. And it’s also definitely possible for viruses and bacteria to infect the inner ear through direct transmission.
For people 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. In other words, the hearing aid itself does not cause the ear infection, the virus or bacteria does. But your device could play a role in transmission.
How ear infections interact with hearing aids
So what is the level of interaction between hearing aids and ear infections? To know what to expect, it’s helpful to look at the most common symptoms of an ear infection. Here are a few of the most prevalent symptoms of ear infections:
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Swelling and inflammation
- In some instances, temporary hearing loss
- Ear pain
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Fluid draining from the ear
Obviously, everybody will experience the symptoms in their own way. Typically, you will have noticeable inflammation of the inner ear and ear pain in the infected ear. For people with hearing loss, these symptoms can interact unfavorably with your hearing aids. That’s because your hearing aid will likely (at least partially) sit within the ear canal. Your hearing aids may cause added discomfort as they aggravate 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. This will also increase the pressure (and pain) you feel in your ears. This pressure can be even more pronounced when you’re wearing your hearing aid.
This added moisture can also impede the function of your hearing aid. So your ears are in more pain and your hearing aid isn’t really working as well as it should. 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 might now be thinking: my hearing aids bother me when I have an ear infection… but what can I do? You can reduce 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:
- Talk to your healthcare provider: If you suspect that you have an ear infection, talk to your doctor as soon as you can. Treating a hearing aid as soon as possible will reduce the risk of it becoming severe or prolonged.
- Practice good ear hygiene: This means regularly cleaning your outer ear and, generally, keeping your ears dry and clean. However, you should never stick any object inside of your ear and that includes cotton swabs. Using cotton swabs can drive earwax and other debris further into your ear, increasing your risk of developing an infection. This is the opposite of what you’re likely trying to accomplish.
- 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.
- 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 help if you’re not sure how to properly clean and disinfect your hearing aids.
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: You can take a break from your hearing aids for a while if you have severe or persistent pain. During this interim period, you can adopt other ways of communicating with your loved ones (like texting or writing messages on a piece of paper, and so on).
You most likely depend heavily on your hearing aid every day. They help you communicate with family and friends 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, you will have a speedier 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 uncommon for people to get ear infections. 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.