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Hearing Devices

If you have hearing aids or other hearing devices, you’ve probably managed to get them to whistle simply by cupping them in your hand. This results because the cupped shape of your hand directs the sound from the speaker back into the microphone, which plays from the speaker again and is directed right back into the microphone. This process, called feedback, repeats again and again and manifests as a squealing or whistling sound.

In your hand this is merely a novelty but when it happens while in your ear it can become very annoying and embarrassing. However there are steps you can take to reduce feedback.

•Some digital hearing aids feature a type of signal processing called feedback reduction which may eliminate small amounts of feedback.

•Feedback problems can be caused by improperly fitting hearing devices – if you have lost or gained weight it can affect the way the device fits in your ear. Pressing gently on the aid to fit it more snugly in your ear can help you determine if it is a fit problem – if the whistling stops, there is a gap allowing the feedback to occur. It’s possible the gaps may be too large to find in this manner.

•Ear wax build up can cause problems with feedback as well as make cleaning your hearing device difficult – do not attempt to remove ear wax yourself as you will most likely simply push it farther inside your ear. Talk to your audiologist about removing ear wax buildup – since hearing aids generally result in more wax buildup you should get your ears periodically cleaned by a professional.

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