Your hearing aids are a critical element in helping you stay connected to the people and things that matter most in your world. 

When your hearing aids malfunction, they tend to disrupt your daily life and ability to communicate. One issue that has the greatest potential to ruin your day is high-pitched squealing or whistling from your hearing aids, which is known as feedback. 

To ensure that you continue to get the most out of your hearing aids, the team at York Hearing Clinic wants to provide you with some troubleshooting tips and maintenance advice to either correct or avoid hearing aid feedback. 

What Is Feedback? 

If you have been to an event or concert and heard the high-pitched squeal of the speakers, then you know what feedback sounds like, but what causes it? 

Acoustic feedback occurs when amplified sound re-enters the sound system through any open microphone, amplifying it again and again and again. 

This was a constant problem with older analogue hearing aids, which often add to the stigmas associated with hearing aids. However, feedback is less likely to occur with modern hearing aids since many are equipped with directional microphones and feedback suppression features. 

Although acoustic feedback is the most common type, feedback can also be mechanical or electronic in nature. 

The Primary Causes of Hearing Aid Feedback 

Modern hearing aids control feedback, but that doesn’t mean it is not possible for your hearing aids to occasionally produce feedback. Here are the possible causes: 

Although not as common with digitally programmed hearing aids, setting the volume too high can also cause feedback as the amplified sound overtakes the microphone. 

Excess earwax blocks the amplified sound from your hearing aid, reflecting it back out of your ear to the microphone. 

Feedback from improper sealing is more common with in-the-ear (ITE) devices since the microphone and speaker are very close together, as opposed to the greater distance between the microphone and speaker in behind-the-ear (BTE) and receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) devices. 

This can occur if the hearing aid speaker touches or wobbles the casing or if there is internal damage or issues with the tubing.  

Issues with your hearing aid’s electrical circuits due to manufacturing defects, software issues, or moisture damage can cause electronic feedback. 

Four Steps to Eliminate Feedback 

Digitally programmed hearing aids with directional microphones and feedback elimination properly fitted to your ears will rarely ruin your day with a high-pitched squeal, but when they do, here are four steps you can take to eliminate feedback: 

Sometimes, people turn up the volume on their hearing aids accidentally or to hear better in certain environments. Your first step to eliminating feedback is ensuring the volume is correct. 

This will improve the acoustic seal of your hearing aids and prevent the amplified sound from the speaker from overwhelming the device’s microphone. 

This involves two processes. The first is daily cleaning of your hearing aids and regularly replacing their wax guards (if applicable) according to the manufacturer’s specs. The second involves keeping your own ears free of excess earwax with professional earwax removal. 

Following the maintenance schedule allows our repair technicians to head off mechanical and electronic issues before they become a problem, but if damage should occur between maintenance appointments, you will need to bring them in for repair. 

York Hearing Clinic’s Repair Services 

A lot of electronic gadgets end up in the junk drawer when they stop working, but your hearing aids are far too important to suffer the same fate. York Hearing Clinic’s repair services in Aurora and Newmarket, ON, could be just what you need. 

Our hearing aid technicians have extensive professional training in dealing with the majority of mechanical or electronic issues that can cause your hearing aids to malfunction. In addition to having the right training and equipment, we have access to genuine parts and provide post-repair support, as well as ongoing education, like proper cleaning and how to troubleshoot your hearing aids. 

Enjoy Your Feedback-Free Day 

When that high-pitched whistling hits, there’s no need to panic. By understanding the possible causes of feedback and what you can do to troubleshoot them, you can continue to enjoy a feedback-free day.

Should your feedback problem be beyond what you can tend to at home, don’t hesitate to contact our hearing aid technicians for maintenance and repair support service that is among the best in the region. 

Contact us online using this link, or give us a call at the Newmarket - (905) 953-9991 or Aurora - (905) 841-2850 York Hearing Clinic nearest you.