Hearing aids and sports go hand in hand because they were picked to suit your lifestyle and enhance it. The goals behind restoring our hearing are not only to restore communication, but to help people stay physically active and socially active. An active lifestyle of physical recreation, sports, and especially team sports are a great way to achieve these goals. We fully recommend wearing your hearing aids and following a few basic best practices.
Yes – there are waterproof hearing aids for swimming, but most hearing aids are not meant for continuous immersion in water.
What Sports Can I Play With Hearing Aids?
While wearing most hearing aids you can play almost any sports you want except swimming. Some physical sports where there is a possibility of crushing the hearing aids you may require a physical protection of a head protector or helmet. But other than that, if you are worried about having your hearing aids dislodged due to rough play, then there are accessories to help with that too we will cover later in the article. Realistically, your options are wide open.
For swimmers there are special hearing aids now available that have an IP rating of IP68, the highest rating available and can stay submerged for 30 minutes or more.
Why Wear Hearing Aids For Sports?
The reasons to wear your hearing aids during exercise and sports greatly outweigh any negatives.
Hearing aids Improve Safety in Sports & Exercise
Indoors or out being able to hear a warning from someone makes physical activity safer for everyone. Sharing trails with cyclists while jogging require hearing the odd warning as does a gentle warning of “behind you “ at the gym so you don’t step backward into someone. The simple fact of being more aware of your surroundings will make you more secure and more apt to react to warning signals to avoid situations.
Clear Communicate with Teammates & Others
Nobody wants to be the player that got it wrong because they didn’t hear the coach, or a teammate make a call before the big play. Or in the middle of the action missing a directional call out for the ball can be a bit embarrassing so avoid that by wearing your hearing aids and stay on top of the plays. Modern hearing aids help filter out background noise and accentuate speech so it’s to your benefit to have them in for the game.
Support your teammates – wear your hearing aids and make the play that was called!
Get Pumped Up with Your Best Pre-Game Playlist
It’s a Bluetooth world and when you want to get the adrenaline flowing for the event your hearing aids are there for you. Use you phone or favorite Bluetooth enabled device to stream you best tracks directedly into your hearing aids to get the blood flowing. If your spot allows keep the music flowing during you exercise just take care that you can still hear what goes on around you. When you are done check your hearing aids health App to see how your vital stats did too.
Maintaining your hearing aids after exercise to reduce the risk of damage to the electrical components because of sweat or moisture are important, but know the components are fully sealed for this purpose.
Protect Your Hearing Aids While Exercising
If you have a rough and tumble sport protect your hearing aids from crush damage with a helmet or protective gear. Also, if they are prone to getting knocked out from heavy hits then look at clips that fit into the bowl of the ear to keep them in place. There are also hearing aid clips and lanyards that can tether them to your clothing. That brings up another point, your clothing also should be chosen so that it doesn’t interfere with your hearing aids. One other solution some clients use is a headband that fits tightly enough to keep the hearing aids in place. See below
After Exercise Routine
A cleaning routine post game or exercise is a good way to increase the longevity of your hearing aids and ensure optimal performance.
- Wipe off sweat & dirt with a soft cloth
- Wipe down with a sanitizer to kill off bacteria before putting in your ears
- Check the shells and brush the surfaces for any dirt that might be stuck as the tiny microphone reside in there.
- Look for any discolouration and signs of wear on tubes or the shell. Don’t put off getting little fixes taken care of – you are covered by our continuous Care guarantee if you purchased from the Polo Park Hearing Centre.
- Make sure your ears are clean and dry after showering post exercise as moisture can lead to bacterial growth and infection.
Do this on a regular basis and your hearing aids will last and perform like champs!
Hearing Aid Accessories For Sports
Here are a few accessories that solve the most common issues associated with exercise and hearing aids.
Hearing aid Lanyards and Clips
The lanyard and clip solution attaches the clip to your clothing behind your head and to your hearing aids via soft rubber loops. This is great for contact sports and prevents your hearing aids from completely falling out. The rubber loops can come in different sizes and the lanyards in a variety of colours with uses other than sports as well.
Hearing Aids Sport Locks / Clips
Sport clips are a clip-on piece of plastic that sits in the bowl of your outer ears that will help retain the hearing aid receiver in your inner ear. They are incredibly easy to install and replace. See the video below for an easy guide on how to install sport locks on your hearing aids.
Drying Hearing Aids
The sensitive electronics in your state-of-the-art hearing aids need to stay dry and that’s why they are sealed up incredibly well. That said, the mics and buttons are still vulnerable to moisture so drying them out is important. Dehydrating jars with desiccant or mini dehydrators will fully dry your hearing aids after an exercise session in a few hours. They are not a lot of money and will extend the life of your hearing aids to they are worth the investment.
Questions - We Can Help
If you have questions about how you can better secure your hearing aids for sports, contact our friendly staff at the Polo Park Hearing Centre by calling (204) 788-1083 or use the form on this page.
Thanks for reading!
