It might be a surprise to many people that roughly 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. Most people think of ear infections as a childhood ailment, something that affects mainly young kids. Ear infections are certainly more prevalent in kids but adults do get them too.
Ear infections can be especially uncomfortable for individuals with hearing loss because they can interfere with their hearing aids. Also, when hearing aids aren’t correctly maintained, they can become a vector for ear infection-causing diseases.
So is it a bad idea to use hearing aids with an ear infection? Overall, the answer is yes, but you may not want to. Hearing aids could intensify the discomfort and inflammation caused by an ear infection. However, there are some steps that those who use hearing aids can take to help avoid and treat ear infection symptoms.
Can an ear infection be caused by hearing aids?
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 more detail is needed to understand the whole story.
The vast majority of all ear infections are caused by viruses or bacteria that then infect the inner ear. There are quite a few paths that bacteria and viruses can take on their way to becoming an infection. Often, a previous illness, such as a cold or sinus infection, will lead to an infection of the inner ear. In other situations, fluid buildup might result in an infection. And it’s also certainly possible for viruses and bacteria to infect the inner ear via simple transmission.
This can happen with some frequency to people who use hearing aids. The virus or bacteria latches onto your hearing aid and, when inserted, gets 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 device could play a role in transmission.
How ear infections interact with hearing aids
So what is the degree of interaction between hearing aids and ear infections? To understand what to expect, it’s helpful to look at the most common symptoms of an ear infection. Generally speaking, ear infections will present with the following symptoms:
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ears
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Drainage of fluid from the ear
- Temporary loss of hearing in some situations
- Inflammation and swelling
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Ear pain
Obviously, everyone will experience the symptoms in their own way. Usually, you will have noticeable inflammation of the inner ear and ear pain in the infected 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 may cause added soreness as they aggravate 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. 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 horrible time wearing your hearing aid while you have an ear infection.
Solutions to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
You may now be thinking: my hearing aids annoy me when I have an ear infection… but what can I do? There are several steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting ear infections and to manage the discomfort that an ear infection might cause. Here are a few of those steps:
- Practice good ear hygiene: This means regularly cleaning your outer ear and, generally, keeping your ears dry and clean. Do not try to stick any object in your ear, however, including cotton swabs. With a cotton swabs, your risk of developing an ear infection increases because you could push earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. You’re attempting to accomplish the exact opposite.
- Talk to your healthcare provider: If you think that you have an ear infection, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. The sooner you address the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms may be.
- 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 happens less often.) If you don’t know how to clean and sanitize hearing aids, talk to us for a quick tutorial.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: Consider coming in to have your hearing aid re-fit if your ear infection goes away but your hearing aid is still not comfortable.
- 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 persistent pain. During this time off, you can pursue other ways of communicating with your loved ones (such as texting or writing messages on a piece of paper, and so on).
Hearing aids are most likely an essential part of your everyday life. They help you communicate with family and friends and move around the world more easily. 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. This will help you get back to feeling better quicker.
It’s not uncommon for individuals to get ear infections. But you should still seek treatment if you notice symptoms. If you have questions about how ear infections might affect your hearing aid use, give us a call today.