It may be a surprise to many that roughly 20% of all ear infections happen to adults. The common notion is that ear infections are something that normally impact kids. Ear infections are definitely more prevalent in children but adults do get them too.
For adults with hearing impairments or hearing loss, ear infections can be especially inconvenient, as they can interact with hearing aids in some unpleasant ways. Additionally, when hearing aids are not 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? You can, but it might not be something you want to do. Hearing aids could intensify the discomfort and swelling caused by an ear infection. But individuals who use hearing aids can take a few steps to treat and possibly prevent ear infections.
Do hearing aids cause ear infections?
If you’re an adult with hearing loss and you begin to notice the symptoms of an ear infection, you might begin to wonder: did my hearing aids cause my ear infection? The technical answer is no. But in order to get the complete picture we need to look at it in greater detail.
Nearly all ear infections are caused by bacteria or a virus that gets into the ear. There are a wide variety of vectors that can lead to infection. In some cases, the inner ear becomes infected after a previous illness (for instance, a sinus infection or a cold). In other situations, fluid buildup 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 wear hearing aids, this can be a frequent occurrence. The virus or bacteria latches onto your hearing aid and, upon insertion, gets access to the inner ear. Correct hearing aid cleaning and maintenance is crucial for this reason. So the virus or bacteria is really 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 level of interaction between hearing aids and ear infections? To understand what to expect, it’s useful to look at the most common symptoms of an ear infection. Here are several of the most common symptoms of ear infections:
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Temporary loss of hearing in some cases
- Swelling and inflammation
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Discharge of fluid from the ear
- Pain in the ear
- Dizziness or vertigo
Obviously, everybody 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 an adverse 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 could cause added discomfort as they aggravate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Additionally, any in-the-canal hearing aid can stop drainage. Your infection and discomfort may last longer if fluid is stuck in your ear. This will also increase the pressure (and pain) you feel in your ears. This pressure can be even more marked when you’re wearing your hearing aid.
The performance of your hearing aid can also be impacted by the excess moisture. So your hearing aids aren’t functioning at peak performance and your ears are in pain. This means that you will have a horrible time wearing your hearing aid while you have an ear infection.
Ear infection & hearing aid solutions
So what can you do if your hearing aids are annoying you during an ear infection? There are several steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting ear infections and to address the discomfort that an ear infection may cause. Here are a few of those steps:
- Talk to your healthcare provider: If you suspect that you have an ear infection, talk to your doctor as soon as you can. Treating a hearing aid as soon as possible will reduce the chance of it becoming severe or prolonged.
- Take breaks from wearing your hearing aids: You can take a break from your hearing aids for a while if you have severe or lasting pain. During this interim period, you can pursue other means of communicating with your loved ones (such as texting or writing messages on a piece of paper, and so on).
- 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. Using cotton swabs can drive earwax and other debris further into your ear, increasing your risk of developing an infection. You’re attempting to accomplish the exact opposite.
- Regularly clean your hearing aids: Making sure your devices are clean can help to ensure they aren’t transferring bacteria and viruses to your ears (or, at least, that it occurs less often.) Ask us for help if you’re not sure how to properly clean and disinfect your hearing aids.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: If your ears begin 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.
You most likely depend heavily on your hearing aid every day. They help you communicate with loved ones and move about the world more easily. Which means that these little devices can often be hard 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 fairly common. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get treatment or try to prevent them. If you have questions about how ear infections may affect your hearing aid use, give us a call today.