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My question is about hearing aides. My mother has a severe hearing loss.  Her hearing aides have to be cleaned everyday because of the wax buildup she has in her ears. These have a small tube inside that gets clogged. The nurse at the facility does not do this for her. They say she just takes them out and loses them. Would it be better for this to be left alone or get some other type of hearing aides. I would like to get a new type, but I have two sisters that do not agree. I would appreciate comments on what to do.

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Today's hearing aids are so very complex.   My Mom had quite a time with the "remote" that helped lower/higher the sound, etc.   She never learned to use it correctly.   One main problem was wax built-up in her ears but she would refuse the hot water cleaning to loosen the wax.... [sigh].

Therefore, when she went into long-term-care, it seemed the hearing aid wasn't helping at all.   So I placed it into a container and into her night stand.   She rarely used it.

I think Mom would have done much better with an old fashioned "ear trumpet".
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This issue makes me froth at the mouth, a bit. Hearing aids are fiddly little things, and all of them do require daily maintenance, and it is a pain in the neck that there is no uniformity when it comes to battery type, or ways of operating it, etc. etc. Manufacturers: must do better! Care industry: get a grip and include this in training!

Having said that, my mother certainly was a great one for absent-mindedly taking hers out and tucking them "somewhere handy" - like under a saucer, or wrapped in a tissue, or beside her plate on the dining table [euuw]; so it's a minor miracle that they outlived her.

In your case, do you think your mother herself minds much one way or the other? If she really seems to appreciate the improved hearing when the aids are in and functioning, then it's worth persisting; but since all of them will need daily cleaning (they come with a miniature brush for the purpose, like an old fashioned mascara brush) I wouldn't bother upgrading. I'd sigh deeply, and slog away at encouraging the caregivers to use the things properly pretty pretty please, hearts, flowers, praise them to the skies... I'm sure you're used to the routine!

Or keep them with you and just pop them in when you're there? But that will only help if you visit really regularly.
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Hearing aids don't work well for people in a facility unless they themselves can be counted on to do the maintenance, we have had many, many complaints about lost aids. In addition I don't think staff can't be trusted to change the batteries let alone fiddle with wax guards and cleaning, I can't even get my one-on-one aide in our own home to understand how to turn them on and put them in.
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