What It Means When a Hearing Aid Starts Squealing or Screeching

You love almost everything about your hearing device. You can pick up on sounds you had nearly forgotten about: birds chirping, bees buzzing, and other low, tranquil noises. However, there’s one new sound you could easily do without: the squealing noise that sometimes occurs when you adjust or remove your hearing aid.

Common Causes of Hearing Aid Feedback Problems

A high-pitched screech or squeal from an electronic device is called feedback, and it can happen for a number of reasons. The most effective way to fix the problem is to determine the source of the problem, which might be:

• Blockages. If excess ear wax is blocking your ear canal, sound may have nowhere else to go but out the vents and joins of the device, causing feedback. Your hearing care provider can easily solve this problem by removing excess wax.
• Improper fit. Hearing aids need to be fitted every few months to make sure there are no gaps between the device and the wearer’s ear. If a device does not fit tightly, sound that is picked up by the hearing aid may echo back into the microphone through the gap, resulting in a squealing sound. If you have recently lost weight or haven’t had a fitting for many months, this could be causing the problem.
• Poor molding. A hearing aid shell should be well molded at the first fitting using impressions of the wearer’s ear. If the device is improperly molded, the device may be positioned so that sound bounces off the wall of the ear canal instead of being directed toward the eardrum. Your hearing provider can solve this problem by taking new impressions, repositioning the device, or making other personalized adjustments.
• Mechanical problems. A broken or defective device can cause feedback if one or more parts are not functioning properly. There may be a hole in the tubing, electrical contact between the casing and speaker, or another problem that prevents the hearing aid from delivering clear sound.

If you are unable to determine the cause of feedback, our hearing care specialists can examine your device and advise you on how to correct the problem. We perform repairs on many hearing aid makes and models, and offer hearing aids equipped with feedback cancellation if your device is beyond repair. Call or visit us today to have our technicians get to work on restoring your hearing aid.