Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Forgot to remove my hearing aids before shower

This topic is closed.

28 replies4k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic
Edited

I took my wife out to dinner last night. She had completed a state required course to maintain her teaching certificate. It was a tough course that she had worked on all year.

I got in a hurry and jumped in the shower to get ready.

I forgot to remove my hearing aids. Soap and water!

I removed the batteries and wiped them down then placed them in a drying jar.

Fingers crossed this morning!!!

20 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest

I did the same thing one time with my OPN S 1, and they are still working because I dried them off quickly and put them in the drying box for 1 hour, the next day the worked just as good as they did before that happened. I hope you have the same luck!

Good luck with your aids.
Sounds like you did the right thing by removing batteries, drying them off and placing in a dryer box.
I believe aids are pretty durable if taken care of. It’s scary to think about when mistakes like this are made with these expensive devices.

Wahoo! I am lucky this time. They were “water resistant” when purchased 8 years ago. The gaskets and seals are not longer present. The battery door on each has been replaced a couple of times. The internal electronics is supposed to be coated with a protective material.

I guess it is still working!

I am going to send them off for internal cleaning and to have mic protectors and etc replaced.

Whew!

Hard to replace on a retired teacher income!

If you wear hearing aids long enough, you will do it!. I have worn hearing aids for over 40 years, and it comes to mind that I might have done it 3 times. One time was really bad. I got in the shower and was shampooing my hair when I discovered they were still on. I jumped out and rinsed them off in the sink to get rid of the shampoo. I got the batteries out and dropped in the Hal-Hen dryer jar. Next day…perfecto! they never failed me the whole time I owned them. I did have to take the day off, cuz I did not have a back up set at that time. The Air Force was less than impressed with me…Glad it all worked out for you…

Yes, I know everyone is different but I sure have had great reliability with Phonak.
Now I am dealing with Cochlear. Hopefully they will also be reliable.
Here in the US with Medicare you get spares with Cochlear, very nice.

I think I stepped in the shower momentarily with hearing aids once in many years.
It took me a couple months and I stepped in the shower with a Cochlear processor. Scared me pretty bad. Like you I quickly dried it off and put it in the Dry & Store dryer. Thankfully have not had an issue.

I honestly believe if we try to take care of our hearing devices they will usually be fine. Just have to be smart about it.

Many newer hearing aids have 68 rating or better, which means that they’re water resistant and can withstand sweating or walking in the rain. But the shower may put it to the test.

My OPN 1 has an IP of 68 but it still failed once on me when I wear them to play tennis and sweat on them.

i spent my Phonak Naida Q50 outside in the rain. I was wet as if I were bathing. The device has filters. The only thing is that it is not resistant to immersion because for hearing aids it is a water pressure that could not withstand.
This should be avoided because the filters are consumable, they should be changed over time to be equally water resistant again, and so on.
Dryers are used, they are mostly used due to the condensation of water that forms inside the hearing aid when one enters a cold room from a hot environment and then condensation of water inside occurs.

I’ve done this! Luckily I couldn’t figure out how all of the sudden I could hear the water hitting the tub. :sweat_smile: Then I felt around my ears…Should have seen how fast I jumped out and threw them in the dry box​:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I blew out one of my Eargo’s a few weeks back after turning the shower on them (they are not very water resistant), Which is now why I am wearing P90’s! Here’s how I’m dealing with that situation in future:
I throw a bright orange rubber “golfball,” once used as a toy for my cat, into the shower basin. This is my cue to remove my aids (if I haven’t already done so). You can’t miss seeing it. I pick it up and place it on a ledge outside the shower. After showering, I grab the ball, which is very eye-catching, and throw it back into the shower basin. You can put a sticker on your shower door, but after a while those kinds of cues, that require no interaction from you, can basically “disappear” and just don’t register unless you are very aware.

[So … you use a Castaway Ball to jag your memory? TOO SMART!

:crazy_face::rofl:… Sorry - I found the opportunity irresistible! :laughing:]

If a dry box is not available, use a small fan (be sure to keep aids from going flying) or a hairdryer set to NO-HEAT. The air alone will dry anything and that’s better than waiting until you get home.

Time is of the essence when getting electronics wet. The longer it is wet, the further water will seep in and the higher the likelihood the device will fail.

As @Volusiano hinted at, you should ask the manufacturer what the rating of your aids are.

Wikipedia explanation of IP code numbers3

Speed is of the essence! Batteries out pronto! With my very old Phonak BE, I next gently sucked at the open battery drawer (not hard in case it might injure the mic or speaker), pulled off the earmould tube, then left that and the dead instrument alone for 24 hours.
Got away with it three times so far: warm bath, cold shower, salty sea! Conductive salt might best be rinsed out quickly with clean water - I took that chance, but I would suggest ask a tech about that. Have now put up a reminder alongside bath & shower.

Related discussions