Caution: You might need medical
help if a piece gets stuck in your ear.
If any part of your hearing aid, like the eartip, gets
stuck in your ear, and you can't easily remove it
with your fingers, get medical help as soon as you
can. You should not try to use tweezers or cotton
swabs because they can push the part farther
into your ear, injuring your eardrum or ear canal,
possibly seriously.
Notes
Note: What you might expect when
you start using a hearing aid.
A hearing aid can benefit many people with
hearing loss. However, you should know it will
not restore normal hearing, and you may still
have some difficulty hearing over noise. Further, a
hearing aid will not prevent or improve a medical
condition that causes hearing loss.
People who start using hearing aids sometimes
need a few weeks to get used to them. Similarly,
many people find that training or counseling can
help them get more out of their devices.
If you have hearing loss in both ears, you might get
more out of using hearing aids in both, especially
in situations that make you tired from listening –
for example, noisy environments.
Note: Tell FDA about injuries,
malfunctions, or other adverse
events.
To report a problem involving your hearing aid,
you should submit information to FDA as soon
as possible after the problem. FDA calls them
"adverse events", and they might include: skin
irritation in your ear, injury from the device (like
cuts or scratches, or burns from an overheated
battery), pieces of the device getting stuck in your
ear, suddenly worsening hearing loss from using
the device, etc.
Instructions for reporting are available at https://
www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch, or call 1-800-
FDA-1088. You can also download a form to email
to FDA.
4
Note: Hearing loss in people
younger than 18.
• People younger than 18 should see a doctor
first, preferably an ear-nose-throat doctor (an
ENT), because they may have different needs
than adults.
• The doctor will identify and treat medical
conditions as appropriate.
• The doctor may refer the person to an
audiologist for a separate test, a hearing aid
evaluation.
• The hearing aid evaluation will help the
audiologist select and fit the appropriate
hearing aid.
A person who is younger than 18 years old with
hearing loss should have a medical evaluation
by a doctor, preferably an ENT, before buying a
hearing aid. The purpose of a medical evaluation is
to identify and treat medical conditions that may
affect hearing but that a hearing aid won't treat
on its own.
Following the medical evaluation and if
appropriate, the doctor will provide a written
statement that the hearing loss has been
medically evaluated and the person is a candidate
for a hearing aid. The doctor may refer the person
to an audiologist for a hearing aid evaluation,
which is different from the medical evaluation and
is intended to identify the appropriate hearing aid.
The audiologist will conduct a hearing aid
evaluation to assess the person's ability to hear
with and without a hearing aid. This will enable
the audiologist to select and fit a hearing aid for
the person's individual needs. An audiologist can
also provide evaluation and rehabilitation since,
for people younger than 18, hearing loss may
cause problems in language development and
educational and social growth. An audiologist is
qualified by training and experience to assist in
the evaluation and rehabilitation of hearing loss in
people younger than 18.