Hearing Aid Dryer / Dehumidifier, Jodi-Vac, & recharging questions

#1

I have already bought and eceievd a Jodi-Vac. I am scheduled to pick up my Jabra Pro 20 HAs on Tuesday 11-28. I have heard mentioned “Hearing Aid Dryers / Dehumidifiers”. And it appears that Costco handles one here in Canada:

https://www.costco.ca/perfectdry-lux%2C-hearing-aid-cleaner-and-uvc-dehumidifier.product.100740773.html

I take it that even if I have a Jodi-Vac (to clean wax off), I also need a dryer/dehumidifier (to dry / dehumidify), as they do different things?

I realize that you canNOT use both simultaneously, and that you also canNOT simultaneously used the recharger and the dryer. But, this Costco offering apparently has a cycle time of just 45 minutes, so I assume that I could do the 3 processes in the following order:

  • Use the dryer for 45 minutes to dry the hearing aids, AND to specifically also dry any ear wax, so that the wax can be more easily vacuumed off by the Jodi-Vac?

  • Then use the Jodi-Vac to vacuum off all the ear wax and anything else that got onto the hearing aids?

  • Then put the dried and cleaned hearing aids into the charger for the night?

Or, am I misunderstanding functions and/or sequenceing?

Jim G

#2

You probably don’t want to be drying a rechargeable HA by heating it. A dryer that just desiccated would be fine for a rechargeable. Some of us just air-dry our HAs by letting them sit in an open case or charger overnight. Might not work as well in more humid climates but works great in Texas.

#3

  1. I take it that drying a rechargeable HA can somehow damage it?

  2. Our climate here in Lethbridge, Alberta Canada is just as dry as Texas (“Texas of the North”!), so your drying method should work just fine. But about the sequencing:
    Do you vacuum the HAs first and then dry,
    OR
    Dry first and then vacuum, so that the dried ear wax comes off more easily, without smearing, via vacuuming?

Jim G

#4

Check out the air temperature of a heated dryer. It’s probably around the recommended upper temperature limit for rechargeable HAs. My DryMaxUV by Dry & Store says interior temps may reach 104 deg F, the recommended upper limit for ReSound aids, IIRC. Dry & Store was nice enough to inactivate the heater on a unit I purchased online directly from them but I decided just room air drying would work for me. I let the HAs dry overnight before cleaning.

#5

I love my Jodi -vac! The owner of the company suggested vacuuming before drying. My audi suggested drying first. I use mine in the mornings after drying. I suppose either way works.
I have custom molds that don’t need outer wax guards. I check my aids every morning. Most often I just use the little brush/pick tool for removing any little wax on the outside of the mold, to help get a good fit. If wax is clogging the sound vent I’ll typically vacuum. No more need to visit my audi for cleanings every two weeks! a life saver.
I use a Hal-Hen mini super dry-aid dessicant jar. It’s easy and works fine for my humid climate. Signia has a dedicated charger/dryer unit that’[s safe for my rechargeables, but it’s so pricey I’ve held off. It would make life a bit simpler to have that. I charge mine before sleep and then put them into the dessicant jar overnight. In the morning any wax is dry on the aids, so it’s working. I do worry about over heating my rechargeable aids in a non specific dryer unit.
I don’[t worry about the light disinfectant feature and in fact would opt not to have that.

#6

Supposed best practices for drying rechargeable aids have been all over the place. I recall a thread a few months ago that mentioned a dryer operating at 85°F. PerfectDry Lux from Costco goes up to 113°F. But it’s only for 30 minutes (compared to Dry and Store Global II which runs for 8 hours, and is now listed as 98°F to 104°F, though I remember it being higher before). How warm do the rechargeable cells themselves get during charging?.

#7

This afternoon, at Costco, I bought a PerfectDry Lux, Hearing Aid Cleaner and UVC Dehumidifier (Item 1399778 Model COST1 PDLC-84B priced at $62 Canadian = about $47 US.

The instructions that came with it say it is perfectly safe with rechargeable batteery hearing aids, and that it holds its maximum temperature to 95F. The Costo HCP who showed it to me says they have had no reports of any issues with the dryer with HAs using rechargeable batteries.

This particular dryer / dehumidifier also has UV lighting inside, that activates for 5 minutes near the beginning of the 40 minute drying cycle. The instructions warn you not to open the case while the UV light is “on”. We got the same warning about the UV bacteria killer lighting we had the heating contractor install in our natural gas house furnace. UV light is effective at killing undesirable organisms, but also harms you if you look at it beyond nominally.

I bought this dryer primarily because I think it will be effective in making removal of ear wax easier by drying out wax that has resisted wiping off via brush or cloth, so that it can be vacuumed off with my Jodi-Vac (Dry wax won’t stick as much).

Jim G

2 Likes
#8

Great find, great price! I agree that this dryer is safe with rechargeable aids. Too bad it doesn’t recharge while drying! This is the gold standard, but HA dispensers charge enormous amounts for what should be a free accessory, or anyway an affordable accessory. Especially given that drying aids overnight helps enormously in terms of keeping them functional and in no need of repair. combining recharging with drying is a no brainer, and should be standard for these functions.

And no, I don’t think it’s a conspiracy on the part of providers to milk the customer for repair fees. Once a manufacturer and a provider have finished with a sale, they’re best off if there are no future problems occupying their time and budgets repairing.

Given this, sellers and brands should provide an affordable charger/dryer at the moment of purchase!!!

#9

DryBoost UV unit operates at temperature of 80-85F and takes 8 hours . Sanitize only 5 minutes. https://www.oaktreeproducts.com/img/product/description/DryBoost_UV_Quick_Start_Guide_ENG.pdf

There is space for large battery based charger/storage and there are two USB connections so charging can occur at the same time–assuming that batteries are not self heating much while charging. On the other hand if HA get over 85F, because DryBoost has a fan, it could cool HA.

Cost on Amazon is about $34.

The Costco unit would be more portable for travel

This link shows 113F (45C) for PerfectDry Lux (very high for lithium batteries) [https://www.oaktreeproducts.com/img/product/description/000016%20User%20Manual.pdf] so wonder if some earlier/later models from various manufactures produce different temperatures.

Some manufactures say not to use heat drying but likely are concerned with higher temperature units, which could even/maybe be above 95/100F. Only a guess…But if heating time is brief does it really matter?

#10

Something to keep in mind: If a drying unit needs many hours to complete its cycle, and you alredy are using the night when you sleep to recharge, is an 8-hour drying time going to be acceptable to you?

My PerfectDry Lux has a 45 minutes cycle time, and keeps the temperature low enough to not do any damage to the hearing aids.

So, each evening, just before I bathe, I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol to clean my HAs, especially the power domes, to take off any ear wax residue from wearing them all day, and then pop the HAs into the PerfectDry Lux for 45 minutes while I bathe and take care of other tasks. Then, I either put the HAs back on for a short time before I go to sleep, or move them directly to the charger.

This routine works for me. But your processes might be different.

Jim G