Surprisingly, around 20% of all ear infections afflict adults. Most people think of ear infections as a childhood sickness, something that affects mainly young kids. Ear infections are definitely more common in children but adults do get them too.
Ear infections can be particularly unpleasant 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 vector for ear infection-causing diseases.
So is it a bad plan to use hearing aids with an ear infection? Overall, the answer is yes, but you may not want to. Ear infections can cause considerable swelling and discomfort in the ear, and your hearing aids may exacerbate those symptoms. But individuals who use hearing aids can take a few steps to treat and possibly prevent ear infections.
Can an ear infection be caused by hearing aids?
If you’re an adult with hearing impairment and you begin to notice the symptoms of an ear infection, you might begin to wonder: did my hearing aids cause my ear infection? Technically, the answer is no. But in order to get the full picture we have 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 a wide variety of vectors that can result in infection. Sometimes, an earlier illness, such as a cold or sinus infection, will result in an infection of the inner ear. In other cases, fluid accumulation might lead to an infection. It’s also completely feasible 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 latches onto your hearing device and, upon insertion, gets access to the inner ear. That’s why it is critical for those who have hearing loss to correctly maintain and clean their devices. So the virus or bacteria is really the cause of the infection, not the hearing aid itself. But your hearing aid does play a part in this transmission.
How ear infections interact with hearing aids
So, how do ear infections and hearing aids interact? The best way to anticipate what to expect is to look at the most prevalent ear infection symptoms. In general, ear infections will have the following symptoms:
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in the ears
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Inflammation and swelling
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Ear pain
- In some cases, temporary hearing loss
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
Needless to say, everybody will experience the symptoms in their own way. Typically, you will have obvious swelling of the inner ear and ear pain in the infected ear. For individuals with hearing loss, these symptoms can interact unfavorably with your hearing aids. That’s because the hearing aid is inside the infected ear (at least some of it). Your hearing aids could cause added soreness as they aggravate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can stop drainage. Your infection and discomfort might last longer if fluid is trapped in your ear. The pain and pressure in your ears will be increased because of this. When you are wearing your hearing aid, pressure can be even more uncomfortable.
The performance of your hearing aid can also be impacted by the extra moisture. So your hearing aids aren’t functioning at peak performance and your ears are in pain. Which means that wearing hearing aids when you have an ear infection can be an absolutely miserable time.
Solutions to wearing hearing aids with an ear infection
You may now be thinking: my hearing aids bother me when I have an ear infection… but what can I do? You can reduce your risk of developing an ear infection and address any discomfort that an ear infection may cause by taking a few steps. Those steps include the following:
- 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 disinfect hearing aids, talk to us for some instruction.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: If your ears start to feel better, but the discomfort from your hearing aids doesn’t go away, consider talking to us to see if you can get a better fit on your devices.
- Talk to your healthcare provider: If you suspect that you have an ear infection, speak with your doctor as soon as you can. Treating a hearing aid as soon as possible will decrease the risk of it becoming severe or prolonged.
- Practice good ear hygiene: This means routinely cleaning your outer ear and, generally, keeping your ears clean and dry. 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 jam earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. You’re trying to accomplish the exact opposite.
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: If the pain is prolonged or significant, it’s okay to take a break from wearing your hearing aid until your ears feel better. You can use alternative methods of communication with friends and family, like texting, in the meantime.
You probably depend heavily on your hearing aid every day. They help you navigate your world more easily and have better communication with your family and friends. Which means that these little devices can often 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 sickness more quickly and more comfortably. This will help you get back to feeling better quicker.
Ear infections are relatively common. But you should still get treatment if you detect symptoms. Contact us if you’re wondering how your hearing aid use will be affected by an ear infection.
