How Can I Keep My Hearing Aids From Whistling?

If you suffer from hearing loss, you may hear a sudden, abrupt whistling noise in your hearing aid while doing mundane actions. This is feedback, the disturbance caused by sounds coming out of your hearing aid that makes your hearing aid squeak. Feedback occurs when sounds are looped around and enter the hearing aid’s microphone.

Depending on the noise, some hearing aids may require repair, while simple adjustments can resolve others. There are several reasons why your hearing aids can leak sound, but you can take simple steps to stop it. Here are common reasons why your hearing aids might be whistling.

Your Fit May Not Be Working

You are more likely to hear a whistle if you don’t have custom earmolds fitted for your hearing aid. If your hearing aid’s earmold doesn’t fit snugly in your ear, the sound will leak out and back into the device’s microphone.

Also, hearing aid receivers can whistle when worn incorrectly in the ear canal. Try taking them out of your ear, putting them into the right ear canal, and seeing if that helps. Try pushing the receiver deeper into your ear canal if that doesn’t work.

If you are wearing your hearing aids too loosely, this may create a whistling sensation.

Your hearing care provider needs to check the fit of the earmolds if you have earmolds made to fit your ear in the first place. If the fit is poor, your earmold will have to be remade.

You might experience a change in the shape of your ears. This can lead to your earmolds becoming loose, which will allow sound to escape, making your hearing aids whistle. Simply see your hearing care professional and order new earmolds to fix this problem.

Ear Wax May Be The Issue

Hearing aids transmit sound into the ear canal. If your earwax builds up in your aural canal, you may hear whistling feedback in your hearing aid. If the sound has nowhere to go, it may bounce back.

Usually, ears generate wax to expel substances that might harm our ears. However, when wax builds up within the ear canal, and you try and place your hearing aids in your ear when there is already wax there, the sound may become blocked and will be returned to the microphone and squeals.

If you are experiencing earaches or your hearing aid is not working correctly, it can aggravate and even damage. Be sure to have your ears professionally cleaned and check for any clogged receivers or vents in your hearing aid.

If this is a recurring problem, your hearing care professional can assist you. Unfortunately, a cotton swab won’t do the trick.

Some hearing aids are more sensitive to feedback than others, so if the hearing aid’s microphone is covered with wax or debris, simply removing the wax from the device will usually solve the problem.

The Volume Could Be The Problem

Hearing aids cause feedback issues and whistling when the volume is too high. You can avoid this by turning the volume down and not going beyond a certain point.

You might want to schedule a consultation with your hearing professional if feedback continues to plague you despite taking these steps to eliminate it. Newer digital hearing aids have a feedback cancellation feature that can help address this problem.

Hearing aids equipped with this system detect the part of the signal that returns to the microphone and remove it before reamplifying. Your hearing aid will naturally adjust itself to avoid unwanted noise and will not sing or whistle when receiving feedback.

Trying to hear with hats, scarves, and other head coverings can cause sounds interference or even the infamous whistle. To prevent this, simply remove your hat or scarf.

The Bottom Line

As you mentioned above, whistling is an occasionally occurring problem that is usually fixable. Nevertheless, it’s aggravating but usually easily fixed.

Despite the difficulty of replacing parts of a hearing aid or having your ears cleaned, doing these things is necessary to keep your hearing in good shape!

If you or a loved one is having difficulties with your hearing aids or your hearing in general, it is essential to consult a professional as soon as possible. Simply getting an opinion from a professional could be the difference between fixing your hearing ailment and continuing to suffer.

If you live in the Las Vegas area, consider using Hearing Associates of Las Vegas for your hearing needs. Locally based, we have a dedicated team of hearing professionals who can help you assess any hearing impairments and get on the path towards healthy hearing and a better quality of life.