It might be a surprise to many people that roughly 20% of all ear infections occur in adults. Most people think of ear infections as a childhood ailment, something that affects primarily young kids. Ear infections are certainly 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 uncomfortable ways. Hearing aids can also shelter germs that could result in an ear infection if they aren’t correctly cleaned and maintained.
So, you might be wondering: Can I wear hearing aids while I have an ear infection? In general, the answer is yes, but you may not want to. Ear infections can cause significant swelling and discomfort in the ear, and your hearing aids might worsen those symptoms. But people 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 loss and you start to notice the symptoms of an ear infection, you might begin to wonder: did my hearing aids cause this ear infection? Technically, the answer is no. But more nuance is needed to understand the whole story.
The vast majority of all ear infections are due to viruses or bacteria that then infect the inner ear. There are a wide variety of vectors that can result in infection. Often, an earlier illness, such as a cold or sinus infection, will lead to an infection of the inner ear. An infection might be caused by fluid buildup in other situations. It’s also completely possible that a virus or bacteria directly infected the inner ear by physical transmission.
For individuals who wear hearing aids, this can be a frequent occurrence. The virus or bacteria hitches a ride on your hearing aid and, when inserted, gains access to the inner ear. Correct hearing aid cleaning and maintenance is essential for this reason. So the virus or bacteria is really the cause of the infection, not the hearing aid itself. But your device might play a role in transmission.
Interactions between hearing aids and ear infections
So, how do ear infections and hearing aids interact? To know what to expect, it’s helpful to look at the most common symptoms of an ear infection. In general, ear infections will present with the following symptoms:
- Tinnitus (a ringing in the ears)
- Swelling and inflammation
- Ear pressure or a feeling of fullness
- Temporary loss of hearing in some situations
- Pain in the ear
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Fluid draining from the ear
Not everybody will suffer from every symptom, of course. In the majority of cases, your infected ear will hurt and there will most likely be obvious swelling around the inner ear. For people with hearing loss, these symptoms can interact unfavorably with your hearing aids. That’s because your hearing aid will most likely (at least in part) sit within the ear canal. Your hearing aids might cause added soreness as they aggravate the tender inflamed infected ear.
Also, with a hearing aid that goes mostly inside the ear canal, fluid drainage can be blocked. Your infection and discomfort might last longer if fluid is stuck 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 unpleasant.
The functionality of your hearing aid can also be impacted by the excess moisture. So your ears are in more pain and your hearing aid isn’t really working as well as it should. This means that you will have a terrible time wearing your hearing aid while you have an ear infection.
Ear infection & hearing aid solutions
You might now be thinking: my hearing aids annoy me when I have an ear infection… but what can I do? You can reduce your risk of getting an ear infection and manage any discomfort that an ear infection may cause by taking a few steps. Here are a few of those steps:
- 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 frequently.) If you don’t know how to clean and sanitize hearing aids, talk to us for a quick tutorial.
- Talk to your healthcare provider: If you suspect that you have an ear infection, talk to your doctor as soon as you can. The sooner you treat the ear infection, the less severe or prolonged your symptoms may be.
- Practice good ear hygiene: This means routinely 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 chance of developing an ear infection increases because you could jam earwax and debris further up into your ear canal. This is the exact opposite of what you’re likely trying to do.
- Talk to your hearing specialist: Think about coming in to have your hearing aid re-fit if your ear infection goes away but your hearing aid is still uncomfortable.
- 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 lasting pain. During this time off, you can adopt other means of communicating with your loved ones (like texting or writing messages on a piece of paper, and so on).
Hearing aids are likely a crucial part of your everyday life. They help you communicate with loved ones and move around the world more easily. That makes it really hard to give up your hearing aid even for short periods. However, you will have a quicker 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 sooner.
It’s not unusual for people to get ear infections. 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.