Surprisingly, around 20% of all ear infections afflict adults. The common notion is that ear infections are something that normally impact kids. Ear infections are certainly more common in kids but adults do get them too.
Ear infections can be particularly unpleasant for people 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 is it a bad idea to use hearing aids with an ear infection? You can, but it might not be something you want to do. Hearing aids could aggravate the discomfort and inflammation caused by an ear infection. 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 questioning 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 more detail is needed to understand the whole story.
Almost all ear infections are caused by bacteria or a virus that gets into the 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). In other cases, fluid accumulation might lead to an infection. It’s also entirely possible that a virus or bacteria directly infected the inner ear by physical transmission.
For people who use hearing aids, this can be a regular occurrence. The virus or bacteria hitches a ride on your hearing aid and, when inserted, gains access to the inner ear. Proper hearing aid cleaning and maintenance is essential for this reason. So the virus or bacteria is actually the cause of the infection, not the hearing aid itself. But your hearing aid is involved in this transmission.
How ear infections interact with hearing aids
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. Generally speaking, ear infections will have the following symptoms:
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ears
- Inflammation and swelling
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Temporary loss of hearing in some cases
- Ear pain
- Fluid draining from the ear
Needless to say, everyone will experience the symptoms in their own way. In the majority of circumstances, your infected ear will hurt and there will likely be noticeable inflammation around the inner ear. These symptoms can have a negative interaction with hearing aids for those with hearing loss. That’s because the hearing aid is inside the infected ear (at least some of it). Your hearing aids could cause added discomfort as they aggravate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can stop drainage. Your infection and discomfort may last longer if fluid is stuck in your ear. 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.
The functionality of your hearing aid can also be impacted by the extra moisture. 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.
Ear infection & hearing aid solutions
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 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.
- 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 pursue other ways of communicating with your loved ones (like 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 possible. The sooner you address the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms will be.
- Practice good ear hygiene: This means routinely cleaning your outer ear and, generally, keeping your ears clean and dry. However, you should never stick any object inside of 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. You’re attempting to accomplish the exact opposite.
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Keeping your device clean can reduce 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 a quick tutorial.
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. That makes it very 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. This will help you get back to feeling better sooner.
Ear infections are relatively 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.