Windy Weather And Hearing Aids

Sometimes wearing a hearing aid can be a challenge even despite all of the technological developments recently. While the sound quality and ease of use have significantly improved in hearing aids, there are still elements of the environment that have their way of making it harder to hear.

Hearing aids work excellently in optimal environments no matter if they are behind the ear, partially in the ear, or completely hidden within the ear canal. They do wonders in keying in on the sounds you want and need to hear, and minimizing all the background noise that just doesn’t matter. Living with a hearing aid does wonders to combat all of the negative feelings and struggles that come with sensorineural hearing loss.

But wind, rain, and warm weather will present a challenge to your hearing aid wearing experience at times. Rain, water, and sweat each can seep into your hearing aid and cause functional damage. Protecting your hearing aid when you’re exposed to rain, intending to take a plunge in the water or find yourself getting a little sweaty is the best way to make sure your hearing aid stays intact.

Wind And Hearing Aids

Although wind may not pose the same kind of threat to the integrity of your hearing aid like water, rain, or sweat can, it can significantly impact your ability to hear. To someone wearing a hearing aid, wind can sound just like someone blowing on a microphone to see if it’s working.

This noise can be extremely aggravating to a hearing aid wearer and it can make hearing anything else very difficult. Some hearing aids do a better job of blocking out the wind noise, but they may block out other sounds the wearer needs to hear as well, thus becoming significantly less effective.

Dealing With The Wind

You could remove your hearing aids in windy situations, but then you’re struggling with missing out on important conversations and sounds and signals in the auditory environment. Instead, the easiest thing you can do to protect your hearing aids in windy situations is to wear a cap that covers your ears. This will block out the wind and improve your sound quality greatly. It’s an inexpensive fix and it works most of the time.

You can also invest a small amount into hearing aid covers. They are little sock-like structures that cover your behind-the-ear hearing aid. These little covers have the same effect as wearing a hat. They protect the hearing aid from wind and block out all of that annoying wind noise without blocking out the essential sounds.

You can also look into upgrading your hearing aid. Older hearing aid models are less effective against wind compared to newer models. Of course, models that fit completely within the ear canal are even better.

With a little planning combating the wind can become quite simple. Check the weather forecast for wind conditions before you go out and always carry a cap around with you to have handy in windy situations.