You’re having a Zoom call with your grandchild and you’ve been anticipating it all week! You’ll have a blast and catch-up with your beloved family members.
But when the call begins, you are mortified to find out, you can’t hear what your loved ones are saying. Your hearing aids are in, but everything seems muffled.
You’re incredibly discouraged.
Modern marvels muffled
Modern hearing aids are famous for their ability to deliver crystal clear sounds. That’s why it can be really, really aggravating when that doesn’t occur. You’re supposed to have better hearing with hearing aids, right? But your hearing aids aren’t improving your hearing. Actually, they’re making everything sound muffled. The problem might not be the hearing aid at all.
What’s causing that muffling?
Ok, so, if the hearing aid is functioning properly, why does everybody sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher? Well, there are several things you can do to fix the problem.
Earwax
You’d be rich if you had a nickel for every time earwax caused trouble. The issue with your hearing aid may be a build-up of earwax against the microphone. The earwax interferes with your hearing aid’s ability to detect sound and, thus, the amplification is muffled.
You may be able to tell if earwax is the problem by:
- Power-up the hearing aid. If the start-up music and dings all sound normal, but speech is later muffled, the issue is probably with the microphone and not the speaker (and wax is the likely culprit).
- Visually look over your hearing aids. In other words, take a good look at the device before you put it in your ear. Clean it thoroughly if you notice any earwax.
Conversely, it’s possible that earwax in your ear and not on the hearing aid is the problem here. In those cases, make sure to clean out your ears in a safe way (a cotton swab, by the way, is not a safe way). If the muffled problem remains after you’ve cleaned up your hearing aid and your ears, you’ll need to keep troubleshooting.
Infection
Infection will be the next thing to consider if earwax isn’t responsible. In many cases, this could be a standard ear infection. Or it might be an inner ear infection. In both situations, a hearing assessment is suggested.
Ear infections of several kinds and causes can produce swelling in your ear canal or middle ear. Your hearing will then sound muffled as this swelling blocks the transmission of sound. Typical, antibiotics will clear this kind of infection up. Once the infection has cleared, your hearing should go back to normal.
Batteries
It’s also very possible that your hearing aid batteries need to be changed. Hearing aids can sound muffled when the batteries are drained so be sure to watch for that. Even if you have rechargeable batteries this can be true. It’s possible, in many situations, that your hearing aids will be crystal clear again after you change the batteries with new ones.
Hearing loss
It might also be feasible that your hearing loss has changed and your hearing aids need to be reprogrammed to make up for that. Consider making an appointment for a hearing exam if you haven’t had one in the past year. While you’re here having your hearing aid adjusted we can also do an inspection and cleaning.
Don’t let it linger
It’s definitely a good idea to come see us for a consultation if you’ve tried all this and your hearing aid still sounds muffled. If your muffled hearing lingers, you may find yourself wearing your hearing aids less (or turning up the volume on your TV again). And all of that could begin causing hearing damage again.
So, don’t let it linger. If you are unable to clear out some earwax and get hearing again, schedule a hearing assessment with us right away and get everything taken care of before your next family event. If you can actually hear what they’re saying you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more.