Winter brings holidays, cozy evenings, and outdoor activities. But for hearing aid users, the cold weather creates three main challenges: moisture damage, battery drain, and feedback from winter clothing.
This guide offers practical steps to ensure your hearing aids remain functional throughout the winter months.
Moisture and Condensation
Condensation is the biggest winter threat to your hearing aids. When you move from cold outdoor air (where your devices cool down) to a warm indoor space, tiny water droplets form inside the hearing aids. Similar to how glasses fog up. This moisture can corrode internal components and damage electronics.
How to Protect Against Moisture:
Remove and wipe immediately: When you come indoors, remove your hearing aids and wipe them with a soft, dry cloth. This removes surface moisture or snow before it seeps into the device.
Use a drying device nightly: Every night during winter, place your hearing aids in a drying kit or dehumidifier. This essential step removes invisible moisture that builds up throughout the day and prevents long-term damage.
Shield from precipitation: When outdoors in snow, rain, or sleet, wear a hood or use an umbrella to protect your hearing aids from direct exposure.
Battery Performance in Cold Weather
Cold temperatures drain battery power quickly, particularly disposable zinc-air batteries.
How to Maintain Battery Power:
Keep spare batteries warm: Store spare batteries in an inner pocket close to your body rather than in outer coat pockets or your car. Body warmth helps preserve battery life.
Monitor rechargeable batteries: If you use rechargeable hearing aids, charge them fully each night. Cold weather can reduce charging efficiency; start each day with a fully charged battery.
Winter Clothing and Feedback
Hats, earmuffs, and scarves can rub against Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing aids, causing muffled sound or high-pitched whistling (feedback).
How to Avoid Clothing Interference:
Select appropriate materials: Choose soft, thin winter accessories. A fleece headband or loose-knit hat creates less pressure against your hearing aids than tight, thick wool; less pressure reduces feedback.
Remove gear carefully: Take off hats and scarves slowly and deliberately. Hearing aids can easily catch on fabric and be pulled off—and they're nearly impossible to find if dropped in snow.
Position scarves strategically: When wrapping a scarf, keep the bulk of the material around your neck, away from the area behind your ears. This prevents rubbing that causes feedback or muffles sound.
Winter is tough on hearing aids. Give your devices the support they need. From wax filters and domes to replacement charging cases and cleaning kits, the right accessories keep your hearing aids clear, protected, and working reliably all season long.
Explore our hearing aid accessories to stay winter-ready and worry-free.
Following these straightforward steps will help you navigate winter successfully. Stay warm, keep your devices dry, and enjoy clear conversations throughout the season.
