Hearing aids and middle ear fluid

I don’t think I really understand this question. How can middle ear fluid affect BTE aids?

Several years ago I got another round of ear infections and ended up with drainage tubes in both ears. At the time I was wearing in the ear aids, and decided to get a pair of BTE aids to get the electronics out of my ears and away from drainage.

I learned a couple of things from that experience. With drainage tubes, your ears need to drain and dry, and anything in the ear hinders that. With acrylic molds with the largest possible vents, though, things were okay.

Fluid in the ear definitely affects how well you hear, and creates an environment in the ear that increases the chances of feedback. Your hearing aid power needs to be increased to help you hear, but the fluid creates a wall that the sound hits, causing it to leak out the vent and create feedback. Catch-22 situation, since you need more power to hear, but a larger vent to let air in to dry up the drainage.

Eventually things cleared up, and I started seeing an allergist, and with daily Clarinex, Nasonex, and now allergy injections every 2-4 weeks, my eustachian tubes function more like they should and I haven’t needed drainage tubes after the last ones finally worked their way out.

Good luck. Hope this helps you.

TY for your response. I had a conversation with a colleague who remains under the impression that fluid in the middle ear has no impact on the hearing of a person with SNHL with bilateral BTE hearing aids. I was shocked that they were not (and continue to not be) able to understand how the presence of fluid creates a wall (as you put it) for sound. Thank you for sharing your experience.