Sleep and Hearing Aids

Hearing loss is a common sensory impairment that can negatively impact your sleep through communication anxiety and reduced auditory input. Patients with severe to profound hearing loss often worry about their safety at night, not hearing an alarm going off, someone ringing the doorbell or an important phone call while they are sleeping.

Although hearing aids are meant to be worn during the day, some people with extensive hearing loss choose to wear hearing aids at night for their safety and peace of mind. Those with tinnitus, like to have their hearing aids on to help them fall asleep. Many hearing aids come with tinnitus maskers as an option.

For most hearing aid users, the night is the time when hearing aids are out of their ears, stored safely in the box, dry aid kit, or charger. This allows the ears to take a break as well. Read on to find out everything you need to know about how the hearing devices interrelate with sleep.

Why You Shouldn’t Sleep with Your Hearing Aids In

Sleeping with your hearing devices comes with its fair share of problems, from damaging the devices and causing discomfort, to feedback issues and extra battery drain. Outlined below are the reasons why audiologists and hearing instrument specialists discourage you from sleeping with your hearing aids in.

1. Airing Out

Taking off your hearing aids at night gives both your device and ears time to air out and breathe. Naturally, your ears produce moisture and earwax, which causes damage to the hearing aids. Sleeping with the hearing aids increases the buildup of earwax in your ears and may damage your hearing device.

2. Discomfort

Earwax finds its exit while you are sleeping at night; thus, when you sleep with your hearing aids in, they block the earwax exit causing an uncomfortable buildup. Also, lying down on one side with your aids in causes soreness on your ears, especially with the behind-the-ear models. Removing the devices while you are sleeping enables you to have a comfortable sleep.

3. Feedback

Hearing aids come with a microphone responsible for amplifying the sounds to help you hear audibly and correctly. When you cover these microphones while sleeping on your devices, you force the sound back into the microphone, causing it to produce a whistling sound. This feedback is very irritating and makes falling asleep or having a restful sleep difficult.

4. Conserve the Battery Life

Giving your devices a chance to rest while you sleep not only enables you to conserve the batteries’ life, but also save money and increase their lifespan. It also provides your hearing devices with the time to rest, thus, improving their functionality. Rechargeable aids should be left for 2 to 3 hours to recharge.

Hearing Aids Can Help Your Sleep

Wearing your hearing aids during the day will lower your stress levels, thus aid in a more restful sleep at night.

• Tinnitus: Hearing devices provide you with a practical way of managing the buzzing and ringing sound, depending on the type of your tinnitus. This helps you to stop the vicious cycle and get a peaceful sleep.
• Isolation: If you are a friendly person who likes spending time with and making new friends, you are less likely to feel depressed and isolated. Hearing devices ease the process of building relationships through effective communication, thus, lowering your depression levels.
• Strain: Hearing loss causes your brain to strain as it tries to put together the sounds that you are struggling to hear. Hearing devices substantially decreases the stress on your mind, thus, making it easier to fall asleep.

Sleep Better with Hearing Aids

Hearing loss negatively affects your sleeping schedule, immune system, stress levels, and the ability to think clearly. If you suspect or have been diagnosed with a hearing impairment, please consider getting hearing aids. For more information about the best hearing aid for you, please call us at 647-694-4626 or schedule an appointment today.