Newbie at this stuff. My first two weeks with open BTE hearing aids and I am heading to the doctor this morning to have him look at my left ear. Aching, tender ear canal and itchy, feels full, and do not want to put ear dome back in it. Are outer ear infections common with hearing aids? How do you help prevent it?
I would say no they are not common. More likely you have a dome that doesn’t fit properly causing the pain. If everything with the aid is not exactly right then it will result in discomfort which will get worse.
was there pain and discomfort on your first follow up? it should’ve been addressed at that time
Doctor gave me medicated ear drops and said I had an outer ear infection. Probably caused by me wearing them for a full eight hours while sweating a whole lot while cutting fire wood on an 85 degree day. He suggested taking them out while wearing ear muff protection rather than keeping them in like I did. Being a virgin at this hearing aid thing I am being overly cautious from now on. Doctor also suggested taking them out at lunch time for about an hour and using alcohol to wipe the ear buds clean before re installing. Anyone have any thoughts on this. Doctors are not always right just like the rest of us humans but I am going with it unless i find out otherwise.
Only had them 12 days before the pain. Doc says I wore them for too a prolonged time in very hot humid weather while sweating profusely. Gave me an antibiotic and said take em out when wearing
other ear muffs while cutting wood with a chain saw.
That makes a lot of sense. First off, moisture is bad for electronics. Too much water in or even on the aids will result in them cutting in and out on you, and giving you static. And the extra humidity in your ear being kept there and rubbed into the sensitive skin in your ears by a device in them … that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Secondly, you are wearing hearing protection for a noisy job, not to mention dusty and dirty job. Why keep the aids in then? It sounds like you are intentionally trying to damage both yourself and the hearing aids 
Also, if you insist on getting them that wet, I would strongly suggest purchasing a Dry and Store electronic hearing aid dryer. The passive type jars with beads would not help you in the least, and your aids would soon be going in for repairs … again … and again … and again. In fact, an active dryer such as the Dry and Store, which blows warm air through the aids overnight while you sleep is a good idea whether you are a sweat demon or not. It will save you lots of headache and doing without time.
Thanks for the advice. It is exactly what my doctor said and I now realize that the hearing aid is not a beast I can bang around. To be very honest I must admit to trying to push them to the limit in the hot humid weather. I got my message. Don’t do it. Period.
Hearing aids are meant to be worn all day long 16+ hours a day, 7 days a week. But if that’s what your doctor says, well then ok.
True … but in the beginning, when you first start with them … it’s good to have short break-in periods to let your tender skin get used to them, toughen up a bit … not to mention give your brain a break with all the noise. But worse is the humidity … that should be avoided, wearing them when you are sweating profusely and moving around a lot as he first stated. That is the recipe for disaster … for both aids and skin.
You are exactly right sir. I have the soreness relieved and the infection is clearing up.
I will start wearing the new aids for about four hours and then take them out for about an hour or more. I put them in the first day I got them and wore them for 8-10 hours and then work hell our of myself in the hot humid weather and I have learned my lesson.http://www.hearingaidforums.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
I believe some people are prone to ear infections and some are not. my ears were prone to infections. When I started wearing hard shell ite aids I had a lot of problems with soreness in the ears. but after a while the skin in my ears toughen up enough so that I could wear the aids for a prolong amount of time. cleaning the aids with alcohol is a great idea. I do this before I wear the aids for a given day. my ear infections problems disappeared once I started doing this.