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Is the "vacuuming service" really a big deal?

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Edited

Fairly new user (6 months) here, but my audie really was pushing me to buy his annual maintenance plan, which includes the vacuuming service. I have Phonak aids and am wondering if wax getting inside the acrylic shells is really that big of a problem. He told me it takes some special equipment to do, what’s your experience with this? Is this a once-a-year type of cleaning?

Thanks!

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Edited

My hearing aids have been back to the manufacturer 4 times within the past year between the 2 of them at a cost of more tha $1000, not to mention the inconvenience.

The issue in my case was not wax, it was the microphones, something which I never paid much attention to. Believe me, I now pay a l lot more attention to those 4 little openings for the mikes with my cleaning brush.

I recently had the vacuum treatment, but it was too late in my case. The vacuuming took 5 minutes at most. Not worth $100 by itself - especially if you brush the openings every 2-3 days. But I don’t know what else his service includes. I’m generally a believer in preventive maintenance, so maybe it’s worth it just to avoid the inconvenience of being without your aids for a few weeks. But debris around the mikes is just one problem. The other is moisture, which is probably the bigger problem. I’d ask him if there’s anything he can do about that or your aids might be going out regardless.

What surprises me most about this conversation with your Audi is that your aids are apparently only 6 months old. Correct? So they should be in a period when they’re covered for service (loss, damage, repairs) for either 2 or 3 years. Is this your situation? If this is the coach, your Audi should be coaching you on how to do your own preventive maintenance and cleaning with the equipment which the manufacturer provided for this purpose. The Audi shouldn’t be trying to extract more money from you at this point. I wouldn’t pay anything during the period when your hearing aids are covered fir service/repairs. And I would work on establishing good habits of cleaning and maintenance.

Good luck.

This service usually comes with the hearing aids, free.
An example is Costco. 3 years of free maintenance and repairs, maybe 5 years if you bought the aids with their credit card.

Also they will replace the domes/ and clean them anytime you want. I asked to do it myself and my his gave me a bunch of wax guards and domes and said have at it :wink:

Wax can be a problem for any aid that goes in the ear but usually can be removed with a small brush. Don’t know anything about vacuuming. As far as maintenance is concerned I’ve never paid for a maintenance plan. It’s usually included at the time of purchase and done for free during my yearly checkup. I’ve never paid to have wax cleaned out of my aids or in my ears. And if they need any repair work it’s under the warranty. Makes me a little leary about your audiologist

This is a total scam. Put Vaseline on a spoon and try to vacuum it off. Not happening. Wipe and brush your hearing aids daily. Change out your every few months. Moisture is more of a threat than wax. Keep your ’s dry. Use heat or silica gel packs.

@sabergermd said:

Keep your HA’s dry.

This is a really good point. Do you have a drying box? I got one at Costco fir $35. An audiologist will probably charge you twice that. The brand is PerfectDry Lux. You can find them on-line - eBay if nowhere else. Very important to get the moisture out and keep your hearing aids dry.

Well wax can be a problem because it can block sound but I question the audi’s motive. Cleaning aids should be included as standard service when purchasing aids

I think we’re getting a little off track here. The audi is trying to sell the op a cleaning package including vacuuming to remove ear wax. And the op wants to know is this makes sense

Sorry to disagree with your point above; but if you’re in the situation where the client has sticky/oily wax that is inclined to pass the wax trap, then the Custom aid or unit is likely to need clearing with a vacuum device. We use a fine cannula that will lift wax from within receiver tubes.

We offer this type of service for free to our customers to improve the longevity of their hearing aids. Some clients don’t change wax traps enough, some are just unfortunate.

So, yes; empirically, it has merits. Charging for this service is a bit much tbh.

I produce a lot of wax. My dispenser’s office offers vaccuming service for free. It’s really just a walk in service; terrific! Without this I would be screwed, frankly, as wax can block up my aids. And yes, I change religiously. some people are jsut wax producers, like bees. It’s possible to insert HA’s right into a chunk of wax. Not good!

Been wearing hearing aids for 7 years, never heard of a “vacuuming service” before. I just go to Costco and have mine cleaned while I shop. In between, I clean them as I was taught, using the brush. I change the domes and monthly. Absolutely no reason for this scam, IMO.

Edited

Thanks for all the info and replies. My situation is that after the trial period ended, I have 3 free visits to my audie over the next year. After this, I’m on my own or purchase his annual “service plan” for $250, which includes unlimited adjustments, vacuuming service, , batteries, etc…I sense this is a big money maker for his office, since he’s mentioned it so many times.

Yes, my ’s have the 3 year manufacture (Phonak) warranty & my insurance provides 5 years of batteries. All I have to buy is the wax guards. I only can get HA’s once every 5 years (fully covered) under my insurance so I want to take care of them correctly. Sounds like I need to use one of these three free appointments to specifically go over the wax vacuuming/moisture issues since he’s never gone over this with me - just brings up the “service plan”. I clean the vents every day and find that I have to change the wax guards every couple weeks. Thanks for the link on where to buy the vaccum and the silica gel pack.

A drying box is a plus moisture is terrible for hearing aids. I bought my hearing aids as private pay out of my pocket because it gave me a 3 year warranty, unlimited visits for adjustments, cleaning, services, and supplies. If I would have used a managed care plan it would have paid for the devices and then I would only get 3 visits to the audiologist and after fist year I would have paid for services and adjustments. Office visit alone would cost me $85.00, and adjustment would cost me $125.00 out of pocket. I think that is how the office makes money, if purchase right out it appears they bundle it all under 1 price so you don’t pay anything until warranty is gone. I hope I explained this correctly for you to understand.

Yes, I understand. I realized pretty fast that I’m not going to have the time or patience to keep going into my audie for adjustments that may or may not help, so I decided to invest in the hardware and do self adjusting from home. I think my audie said he’d charge me $140 a visit after the first year’s 3 free visits expire. The only maintenance task I didn’t know about is the vacuuming and moisture issues - much appreciate the advice and feedback.

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