How to Wear Hearing Aids

This blog post has been reviewed and approved by a hearing care professional.

Knowing how to wear hearing aids will help you get the best hearing experience. Sometimes, people who try hearing aids for the first time are disappointed with the results. They may think that it does not actually help them hear any better, either in general or in certain situations.


However, learning how to wear them properly will greatly improve your experience with hearing aids. This includes wearing them so they fit in your ear properly. If your hearing aids aren’t fitting correctly, please contact your hearing healthcare professional for more training.

Wearing an In-The-Ear Hearing Aid

There are four easy steps to wearing a hearing aid that goes inside your ear canal:


  1. Hold the hearing aid between your thumb and index finger. Make sure the battery door of the hearing aid is facing out.

  2. Insert the canal part of the hearing aid into your ear canal.

  3. Carefully twist the hearing aid until the top part of the hearing aid is comfortably nestled into your outer ear.

  4. Once the hearing aid is properly in place, it should sit securely in the bowl of your ear.

Wearing a Behind-The-Ear Hearing Aid

There are three easy steps to wearing a hearing aid that sits behind your ear:


  1. Place the hearing aid case behind the ear, so that the ear wire rests comfortably in front of the ear, close to your head. It can help if you hold your hearing aid between your thumb and index finger.

  2. Insert the ear-tip into the ear canal while holding the lower part of the earwire. You will know the hearing aid has been properly placed inside your ear when the wire [U1] lays flush against your head.

  3. Run your finger along the wire to confirm that the hearing aid fits properly.

Quick Tips for Placing Your Hearing Aids

Here are a few tips to help you figure out placing your hearing aids in or behind your ears, so they fit properly.


  • Use one hand to pull the ear back and up to straighten out the ear canal and while holding this position, use the other hand to guide the ear-tip into the ear canal

  • Use a mirror to see what you're doing

  • Identify the right and left hearing aids by the red and blue markers on the device. Red is for right, and blue is for left. Some hearing aids indicate the right and left hearing aid by a capital “R” or “L” on the device

DID YOU KNOW:

It can take a couple of months to adjust to hearing aids if you are wearing them for the first time. If your hearing aids are uncomfortable or you are hearing feedback noise, make sure to contact your hearing healthcare professional as they can help you overcome any challenges as you adjust to wearing them.


This time of adjustment is why our HearCANADA hearing centres offer a 60 day trial period. If you purchase hearing aids and find that they are not helping you, you can return them within 60 days. We can help you try different types or models of hearing aids that help your needs better, and show you how to wear the hearing aids properly.


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