Hearing aid storage options?
September 27, 2010 11:51 PM Subscribe
So, how do you store your hearing aids? Can I just toss them in a Pelican case with a Dri-Brik and have done with it?
I'm picking up my first pair of hearing aids tomorrow-- Phonak BTEs with the little tube and dome setup. I see a lot of talk about the Dry and Store system and its boxes full of UV lights and blowers and desiccants. Is this the standard? What do the rest of you do to store these things?
I already own a Pelican 1050 case (clear top, not submersible but generally watertight, rubber base and gasket); I don't suppose I could just chuck a Dri-Brik in there with my aids and be set? How the heck big is a Dri-Brik anyhow, and does it only work with the Dry and Store box?
I'm clueless. Help me out.
I'm picking up my first pair of hearing aids tomorrow-- Phonak BTEs with the little tube and dome setup. I see a lot of talk about the Dry and Store system and its boxes full of UV lights and blowers and desiccants. Is this the standard? What do the rest of you do to store these things?
I already own a Pelican 1050 case (clear top, not submersible but generally watertight, rubber base and gasket); I don't suppose I could just chuck a Dri-Brik in there with my aids and be set? How the heck big is a Dri-Brik anyhow, and does it only work with the Dry and Store box?
I'm clueless. Help me out.
Okay, just checked out your Pelican case and the Dri-Briks, and I think you can definitely use them together but the Dri-Briks look a bit expensive.
posted by autoclavicle at 1:08 AM on September 28, 2010
posted by autoclavicle at 1:08 AM on September 28, 2010
I've had hearing aids for 31 years now (I got them when I was 4). I've been using a Dry and Store for the past ten years or so. It's travelled with me from Detroit to Dublin to Kentucky and now to North Carolina and it seems to work reasonably well. About every three months or so, I return to the audiologist and have my hearing aids dried by their more powerful machines, as well. My last audiologist did this for free. Moisture is probably the number one damager of hearing aids. When the receiver or speaker goes out due to moisture it's at least a $300 fix per hearing aid (thankfully, I've never had them both go kaput at once). I wear NuEar completely-in-the-canal hearing aids, so my moisture threat is probably higher than yours with behind-the-ear aids. Also, with my newest pair, I never wear them to exercise and I don't wear them to sleep or in the shower (obviously), but I do wear them all day otherwise.
A Dri-Brik for the Dry and Store is about the size of a credit card and a little under an inch thick.
posted by Slothrop at 4:12 AM on September 28, 2010
A Dri-Brik for the Dry and Store is about the size of a credit card and a little under an inch thick.
posted by Slothrop at 4:12 AM on September 28, 2010
I used to use Super Dry-Aid with the kids' BTEs. It worked pretty well, as long as the kid wasn't jumping in the pool with them on. Though....oh, man, I have seen a hearing aid get wet, and everyone has a sad when that happens. Dry and Store sounds like it would have been great.
You're in a drier climate than I was, but if your audiologist recommends Dry and Store, DO IT. Not only are they expensive repairs, but the sound of a shrieking aid, post-moisture, is a terrible thing--I used to get instant migraines from the noise, and I was just standing next to them.
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 5:44 AM on September 28, 2010
You're in a drier climate than I was, but if your audiologist recommends Dry and Store, DO IT. Not only are they expensive repairs, but the sound of a shrieking aid, post-moisture, is a terrible thing--I used to get instant migraines from the noise, and I was just standing next to them.
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 5:44 AM on September 28, 2010
Since you asked how I actually store them, not the best way to store them, my answer is ... I do nothing. They go on my nightstand while I sleep. My current aids are 4 and 5 years old and both work fine. (KNOCK ON WOOD) If I notice some moisture producing feedback, I carefully use some canned air and I'm good to go after that.
But do what your audiologist says. I am probably doing it all wrong.
posted by desjardins at 7:32 AM on September 29, 2010
But do what your audiologist says. I am probably doing it all wrong.
posted by desjardins at 7:32 AM on September 29, 2010
Response by poster: My audiologist handed me a Stay-Dri can (with 1970s-style mallards printed all around the sides, like an old margarine container or something) and the instructions for redrying the desiccant pillow inside it. Problem solved!
I also got, like, way more boxes of Debrox earwax removal aid than anyone could ever need. My entire backpack was full. Oh, and Phonak throws in two mini Tootsie Rolls with every purchase. Mighty big of them.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 12:14 AM on October 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
I also got, like, way more boxes of Debrox earwax removal aid than anyone could ever need. My entire backpack was full. Oh, and Phonak throws in two mini Tootsie Rolls with every purchase. Mighty big of them.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 12:14 AM on October 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by autoclavicle at 1:04 AM on September 28, 2010 [1 favorite]