Reasons for wearing hearing aids

• Improved communication
• Reasonable personality

Insertion
Bleeding can be due to blood thinners, weak skin, flabby
skin due to weight loss, etc.

Whistling
Hearing aid should whistle in your hand if turned ON, but not in the
ear
Cerumen/wax (can be painful to remove)
Improper insertion
Loose in ear due to weight loss
Vent hole too large for hearing loss
Loose part inside the hearing aid

BTE Switches
O = off
T = telephone (shuts off the room)
M = microphone (ON)

ITE Switch
Wear two aids or fit better ear/need a T-coil circuit & switch
T-coil switch moves up/down or side-to-side

Volume Control
ITE aids have wheels that twist forward/backward
BTE aids have wheels that twist up/down
Some aids have no wheels at all; volume is pre-set

Noise Control Button
A new type of control is available on some hearing aid
models. It is a tiny push button. The purpose is to control room noise,
and also to put the hearing aid into the telephone mode only for one ear.

Instructions
Clear written instructions regarding controls are left with the resident/
family, and in the chart.

Maintenance Issues
Cost of hearing aids
Lost hearing aids
Washed hearing aids
Insurance & costs of replacing hearing aids
Master List in bldg

Batteries
There is a top and bottom/plus & minus
Put in a battery upside down; door will not open once closed

Typical Problems:

* Inserting batteries into hearing aids
* One major reason for getting a hearing aid when there is hearing
loss but vision, perception, hand coordination, memory, etc. are in good
shape is that hearing aid operation tends to be remembered even when senses
begin to fail. A person is giving themselves a long term gift when they
address the hearing loss promptly.
*
* Purchasing the correct size batteries
All battery sizes are color coded 675 blue
4 different sizes 13 orange
312 brown
10 yellow
When other people get into the mix of purchasing batteries, the wrong
size is
sometimes purchased. Patients may also purchase the wrong size.

* Remembering to insert a battery into the hearing aid
This begins to become a problem with dementia.

* Inserting hearing aids in ears
* If this is a problem at the outset, practice usually solves this and
motivation plays a large role
* Rotation for this is usually a backward and in motion
* Many elderly people seem to have spatial orientation problems once
they put their hand up to their ear and cannot directly look at their hand
motions
*
* Removing hearing aids from ears
If this is a problem at the outset, practice usually solves this and
motivation plays a large role again
Rotation for this is usually a forward and out motion
This seems to be a strength issue more than a perception issue
One new solution is to install clear plastic removal filaments in
the front of the hearing aids

You are the key personnel for morning/day/night time hearing aid care and
storage; your role is vital in helping to maintain and improve the
communication abilities of residents here at this facility.