We get many inquiries about “can you sleep with hearing aids on?”. What about dozing while wearing them? While it may sound convenient or even beneficial to do so, we favorably advise against it. There are several grounds to sleep without hearing aids, which we’ll cover in great detail. Here are some reasons we don’t recommend sleeping with it:
Reasons to take out hearing aids before sleeping.
Patients often ask us if it’s alright to sleep with their hearing aids on. Typically, it’s ideal to take your hearing aids off, open the battery doors, and put them in a case. Doing this will maintain the charge of the batteries. Falling asleep with your hearing aids on can drain the battery life down faster.
We don’t recommend using hearing aids in your bed because they may be inclined to fall out while you’re sleeping. When resting, your head rubs against the mattress, and your sleeping positions may vary throughout the night. Thus, there is no guarantee that your hearing aids will remain in your ears.
Another reason we urged you not to use hearing aids while resting is so you can provide your ears an opportunity to breathe. Having hearing aids in your ear can produce moisture faster. The ear canal is striped with skin and regularly requires air to circulate. An evening without aids allows air circulation in your ears.
Lastly, it can be painful to wear hearing aids all day and night. The aids may be comfy throughout the day, but placing your head on your pillow could be a different story, particularly with Behind-the-Ear hearing aids. Wearing hearing aids molded to fit your ears for extended periods can also build up ear wax, making wearing your hearing aids uneasy.
What if I fall asleep with my hearing aids on?
Many users said they usually would fall asleep watching television and awaken with their hearing aids remaining in their ears without noticing it.
However, if you fall asleep while wearing hearing aids, understand that it is not detrimental to your hearing health. Dozing with hearing aids may not be a significant issue as long as the fit in the ear and the hearing aid to bed are not redundant.
What if my hearing aids keep falling off when I fall asleep?
If your hearing aids slip out when you fall asleep, the fit may not be suitable. Determining whether or not you have a good, snug hearing aid fitting is by how often you feel the necessity to “put” your hearing aids back in your ears.
Whether your hearing aid is a Receiver-in-the-Ear (RIE) or In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aid, you should be able to push or reposition them back where they must be accessible. If something like this often happens, make an appointment with your audiologist to correct this immediately.
You can always find new hearing aids that are perfectly snug in your ear and as comfortable as not wearing one with the variety of devices available in any Active Hearing Center clinics. You can ask about the “Hear Now, Pay Later” promotion and get better hearing aids for an ideal payment option. Visit any of our centers today and ask us about it.
