I have gotten my hearing aids wet many times throughout my life. I've been caught in rain storms, I've forgotten to take them out when I stepped in the shower or jumped in a pool, and most commonly I've forgotten to protect my hearing aids from my sweat while I work out (I discuss working out with your hearing aids here). Each time, I've been able to dry my hearing aids and they returned to normal function.
There are a couple of ways to dry them, but it takes time for your hearing aids to dry so you need a lot of patience.
First, Start by taking the battery out (if you have a battery) and opening the battery compartment completely. Then separate the tubing (if you have tubing) from the hearing aid. The key here is to expose as much surface area of the hearing aid to air as possible. Then dab the hearing aid and battery dry with a towel or tissue.
Second, If you have access to a blow dryer, I recommend using one of those. However, it is important that you do not let the hearing aid heat up, as the electronics are extremely sensitive to heat. So use a low heat setting.
If you do not have a hair dryer you can also blow on the hearing aid or use a gentle stream of compressed air.
Gently blow air onto the hearing aid for a minute or two, and then let it rest for a little while. Then repeat. After about 5 minutes, test the hearing aid to see if it works. If it doesn't, then repeat with the air until it does a few more times.
Third, If the hearing aid doesn't resume working after a few attempts with blown air, then leave the hearing aid in dry rice, or a desiccator for several hours or overnight.
Finally, if the first three steps haven't gotten your hearing aid back to working order, then call your audiologist for further recommendations. They may have some options for you, including giving you a loaner hearing aid which will allow you to get the wet hearing aid fixed without any further interruptions to your regular hearing.
Again, getting your hearing aid wet is inevitable, but fortunately hearing aids are resilient so don't panic, and be patient while you restore your hearing aid to its normal function.
Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should! If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them. If you need to, send them to this site. It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!
