Surprisingly, about 20% of all ear infections afflict adults. Most individuals think of ear infections as a childhood ailment, something that impacts mainly young kids. And it’s accurate that ear infections are more common in kids, but they also occur frequently in adults.
Ear infections can be especially uncomfortable for people who have hearing loss because they can interact with their hearing aids. Also, when hearing aids are not properly maintained, they can become a vehicle for ear infection-causing diseases.
So, you may be wondering: Can I wear hearing aids while I have an ear infection? Overall, the answer is yes, but you might not want to. 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 manage ear infection symptoms.
Do hearing aids cause ear infections?
You might be wondering if your hearing aid is the cause of your ear infection if you’re an adult with hearing loss. The technical answer is no. But in order to get the full picture we need to look at it in greater detail.
Almost all ear infections are caused by bacteria or a virus that gets into the ear. There are quite a few paths that bacteria and viruses can take on their way to becoming an infection. Sometimes, a previous illness, like a cold or sinus infection, will lead to an infection of the inner ear. An infection may be caused by fluid buildup in other situations. It’s also completely possible that a virus or bacteria directly infected the inner ear by physical transmission.
For people who wear hearing aids, this can be a regular occurrence. The virus or bacteria latches onto your hearing device and, when inserted, gains access to the inner ear. That’s why it is critical for those who have hearing loss to properly maintain and clean their devices. Essentially, 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 useful to look at the most common symptoms of an ear infection. Generally speaking, ear infections will have the following symptoms:
- Temporary loss of hearing in some situations
- Ear pain
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Swelling and inflammation
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Dizziness or vertigo
Needless to say, everyone will experience the symptoms in their own way. Typically, you will have noticeable swelling of the inner ear and ear pain in the infected ear. For those with hearing loss, these symptoms can interact unfavorably with your hearing aids. That’s because the hearing aid goes inside the infected ear (at least some of it). Your hearing aids could cause added discomfort as they irritate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can prevent drainage. Your infection and discomfort may 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 uncomfortable.
This increased moisture can also impede the function of your hearing aid. So your hearing aids aren’t functioning at peak performance and your ears are in pain. This means that you will have a terrible time wearing your hearing aid while you have an ear infection.
Strategies to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
So what can you do if your hearing aids are bothering you during an ear infection? There are several steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting ear infections and to address the discomfort that an ear infection may cause. Here are a few of those steps:
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Keeping your device clean can reduce the chance of transferring bacteria or viruses to your ears. If you don’t know how to clean and disinfect hearing aids, talk to us for some instruction.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: Consider coming in to have your hearing aid re-fit if your ear infection clears but your hearing aid is still uncomfortable.
- Practice good ear hygiene: It’s essential to keep your ears clean and dry and regularly 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 chance of developing an ear infection increases because you could push earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. This is the opposite of what you’re likely trying to accomplish.
- Talk to your healthcare provider: You should talk to your doctor sooner than later if you suspect you might be developing an ear infection. The sooner you treat the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms will be.
- 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 time off, you can adopt other means 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 get around your world more easily and have better communication with your family and friends. Which means that these little devices will usually be hard to give up, even for a short time. However, you will have a faster 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.
Ear infections are relatively common. But you should still get treatment if you notice symptoms. If you have questions about how ear infections might impact your hearing aid use, give us a call today.