It might be a surprise to many people that approximately 20% of all ear infections occur in adults. Most individuals think of ear infections as a childhood illness, something that impacts mainly young kids. Ear infections are definitely more prevalent in children but adults do get them too.
Ear infections can be especially uncomfortable for people 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 correctly cleaned and maintained.
So is it a bad idea to use hearing aids with an ear infection? You can, but it may 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 people who use hearing aids can take to help avoid and manage ear infection symptoms.
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 loss. The technical answer is no. But more nuance is required to understand the whole story.
The vast majority of all ear infections are due to viruses or bacteria that then infect the inner ear. There are a wide variety of vectors that can result in infection. Often, an earlier illness, such as a cold or sinus infection, will lead to an infection of the inner ear. In other cases, fluid accumulation may result in 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 frequent 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. Essentially, the hearing aid itself does not cause the ear infection, the virus or bacteria does. But your hearing aid is involved in this 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 helpful to look at the most prevalent symptoms of an ear infection. Here are a few of the most prevalent symptoms of ear infections:
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Swelling and inflammation
- Temporary loss of hearing in some cases
- Drainage of fluid from the ear
- Pain in the ear
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ears
- Vertigo or dizziness
Not everyone will suffer from every symptom, of course. Typically, you will have obvious swelling 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 your hearing aid will likely (at least partially) reside within the ear canal. Your hearing aids might cause added soreness as they aggravate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Also, with a hearing aid that goes primarily inside the ear canal, fluid drainage can be obstructed. When fluids can’t drain, your discomfort may become prolonged. The pain and pressure in your ears will be increased as a result of this. When you are wearing your hearing aid, pressure can be even more unpleasant.
This added moisture can also impede the function of your hearing aid. So your ears are in more pain and your hearing aid doesn’t really work as well as it should. This means that you will have a terrible time wearing your hearing aid while you have an ear infection.
Solutions to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
So what can you do if your hearing aids are annoying you during an ear infection? There are several steps you can take to lower your risk of getting ear infections and to manage the discomfort that an ear infection might cause. Those steps include the following:
- Talk to your healthcare provider: You should talk to your doctor sooner than later if you believe you may be developing an ear infection. Treating a hearing aid as soon as possible will reduce the risk of it becoming severe or prolonged.
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Keeping your device clean can decrease the chance of transmitting bacteria or viruses to your ears. Ask us for help if you’re not certain how to correctly clean and disinfect your hearing aids.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: If your ears start to feel better, but the discomfort from your hearing aids doesn’t recede, consider talking to us to see if you can get a better fit on your devices.
- Practice good ear hygiene: It’s important to keep your ears dry and clean and routinely clean your outer ear. Do not try to stick any object in your ear, however, including 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.
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: You can take a break from your hearing aids for a few days if you have significant or lasting 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).
Hearing aids are likely a crucial part of your everyday life. They help you communicate with loved ones and move about the world more easily. Which means that these little devices will usually 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 infection more quickly and more comfortably. That means you can get back to enjoying what you hear faster.
Ear infections are relatively common. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek out treatment or try to prevent them. If you have questions about how ear infections might affect your hearing aid use, give us a call today.