More than half of all hearing aid wearers are anxious about wearing their devices during water activities. If you've ever hesitated at the edge of a pool, quietly tucked your hearing aids into your pocket before someone suggested a boat ride, or wondered whether the afternoon humidity was quietly destroying something you paid a great deal of money for. You are not alone, and your concern is not unreasonable.
But for most patients, the anxiety is larger than the actual risk, and the real risks are not always the ones people are worried about. This is what we tell our patients before summer gets underway.
When patients worry about moisture and hearing aids, they usually picture a dramatic event like a wave at the beach, a sudden rainstorm, a dropped device in the sink. Those scenarios are worth avoiding, but they are not what causes most summer hearing aid damage.
The more common culprit is cumulative sweat exposure.
Sweat is more corrosive to hearing aid components than plain water because it is salt-based. Over weeks of summer activity — yard work, golf, walks, outdoor dining — sweat works its way into microphone ports and around receiver seals, gradually degrading the electronics inside. The damage is rarely sudden. It accumulates, and patients often don't notice until sound quality has quietly declined.
The good news is that modern hearing aids are substantially more moisture-resistant than devices from even five years ago. Most current devices carry an IP54 rating or higher, meaning they are tested to resist dust and water splashes from any direction. Rechargeable hearing aids have an added advantage: without a battery door, there is one fewer entry point for moisture to find its way inside.
Moisture resistance, however, is not the same as waterproof.
Here are a few practical steps to care for your devices that can make a meaningful difference over a summer:
Wipe your hearing aids down each evening with a clean, dry cloth before putting them away. If you sweat heavily during activity, do this after exercise as well.
A hearing aid drying case or electronic dehumidifier used overnight removes residual moisture that cloth-wiping alone won't reach. Your audiologist can recommend one appropriate for your specific devices.
And if your devices use disposable batteries, open the battery door overnight to allow air circulation.
Let's answer the questions we hear most often.
No. This applies even to devices marketed as water-resistant. IP ratings are tested under controlled conditions and are not designed for submersion, sustained exposure to pool chemicals, or the pressure changes that happen during diving. Chlorine is particularly hard on hearing aid components and will degrade seals and coatings over time. Remove your hearing aids before getting in any pool, lake, or ocean water.
A walk in a light rain or getting caught in a summer shower is generally fine for most current devices. Wipe them down when you get inside. A heavy, sustained rain is worth taking shelter from if you can.
The water concern applies at the beach, but there is a second hazard worth knowing about: sand. Fine sand particles can work their way into microphone ports and cause a different kind of damage: abrasion to the internal components.
If you are spending time at the beach, a small protective case for when the aids are out of your ears is worth bringing. Give the devices a gentle wipe-down before putting them back in.
Sweat on your hearing aids is fine and typical, but make sure you have a nightly wipe-down and drying routine in place. Moisture-wicking sweatbands designed for hearing aid wearers exist and could be worth purchasing if you are particularly active.
Ambient summer heat — the kind you experience going about your day — is not a significant risk for hearing aids. The bigger heat concern comes from concentrated, direct heat exposure, and the two most common culprits are cars and direct sunlight.
The interior of a parked car on a summer day can reach temperatures that warp hearing aid casings, degrade battery performance, and damage the receiver. This applies to the glove compartment, the cupholder, the sun visor, or really anywhere you might casually set them down. If you remove your hearing aids in the car for any reason, take them with you when you get out.
Direct sunlight presents the same problem. A hearing aid left on a beach towel, a picnic table, or a poolside chair in full afternoon sun can sustain heat damage within an hour. The same rule of thumb that applies to your phone applies here: if you wouldn't leave your phone there, don't leave your hearing aids there.
A cool, dry case stored in a bag or pocket is the right place for hearing aids when they are not in your ears.
Here are a few things worth knowing before you head to the airport:
Hearing aids can remain in your ears through TSA security screening; they do not need to go in the bin. If a screener asks you about them, simply let them know what they are. Always pack your hearing aids, charger, and any backup batteries in your carry-on bag, not checked luggage. Checked baggage is not climate-controlled and can expose devices to temperature extremes; it is also where things get lost.
If you are traveling internationally for an extended trip, it is worth a conversation with your audiologist before you go. We can check that your devices are performing well, make any adjustments for environments you'll be spending time in, and talk through what to do if something goes wrong while you're away.
Most patients come in when something is wrong. But a summer check-in, when nothing is wrong, is one of the more useful visits you can schedule.
We can clean your devices thoroughly by removing wax, debris, and any residue from months of spring and summer wear that routine home maintenance doesn't reach. We can check that your devices are still performing to your audiometric prescription, which matters because hearing and device performance can drift in ways that are gradual enough to go unnoticed. And we can make sure everything is in good shape heading into fall, when you're back in restaurants, family gatherings, and the noisier indoor environments that put your hearing aids to work.
For patients enrolled in our Peace of Mind service plan, professional cleanings and adjustments are covered as part of your annual membership. There's no additional cost for this kind of visit. If you're not enrolled and have questions about whether it makes sense for you, we are glad to walk you through what's included.
Summer is, in many ways, the season that tests hearing aids most. A little attention now means fewer problems when it matters most.
