How to Stop The Whistling in Your Ears

Man holding ear because his hearing aid is whistling.

It’s difficult to accept, for many, dealing with and acknowledging the truth of hearing loss. Nonetheless, you soldiered through and went to a hearing expert for a hearing aid fitting appointment, because you knew that’s what is best for your health. More than likely, you quickly realized the advantages one receives by using a hearing aid, including the ability to deal with tinnitus, hear speech (even among the buzz of background noise), and the possibility of recovering from cognitive decline.

But on occasion you get a loud, piercing, shrieking negative among all the life altering advantages. Your hearing aids whistle. Feedback is the more common term for this whistling. It’s just like what happens to a sound system when you bring a microphone too close, but it’s directly in your ears. Fortunately for you, this is a problem you can fix relatively simply. Stopping your hearing aid from squealing can be accomplished using the following suggestions:

1. Adjust The Fit of Your Hearing Aid

Possibly the most predominant reason for feedback or whistling in the ear involves the placement of your hearing aid in your ear or the earmold it’s connected to. If the hearing aid doesn’t fit properly within your ear, sound can escape and reverberate through the hearing aid’s microphone. The result of that leakage can be a whistling that’s either sporadic or continuous, depending on how much sound has escaped and how poorly the fit actually is. With some hearing aid models, a plastic tube will connect the actual device with the earmold. Over time, the earmold can become unseated from its proper position due to shrinking, cracking and hardening. This movement can cause squealing, but you can improve the issue by switching the plastic piece.

2. Remove Excessive Earwax

Earwax is really good for our bodies, even though, ironically, we tend to think of it as unwelcome or even foul. This icky substance acts as a defense against irritants like dirt and prevents them from getting into our ears. While your ears will self-regulate the quantity of earwax you hold, through actions such as Talking and chewing, there are times when an accumulation of too much earwax can have negative consequences. Feedback will inevitably occur if you insert a hearing aid on top of an excessive amount of earwax. Due to the blockage from earwax, the amplified sound can’t go anywhere and this is the reason for the feedback. The sound circles back into the microphone because it has no definite exit. There are a few ways to remove an overabundance of wax from your ears like letting a warm shower run into your ears. However, the best idea could be to speak to a hearing specialist about properly cleaning your ears to prevent excessive buildup and subsequent whistling.

3. Uncover the Microphone

Sometimes the most obvious answer is the most practical. Have you ever seen someone attempting to take a picture which didn’t come out, only to discover that the lens cap was still on? The same principle is applicable here. Whistling can happen when something is covering the device. You might even get the same outcome by covering the microphone with your hand or another object, like if you hug someone and put your ear into their shoulder. This problem should be easy to fix simply by uncovering the hearing aid.

Here’s a bonus tip: A new hearing aid might be the best option. Some causes for concern are being relieved by modern hearing aid models and manufacturers are developing new technology all of the time. Call us if you are interested in learning about new hearing aid technology or if you are having trouble with your current hearing aids whistling.

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.