How to put on and remove your hearing aids
Learn the correct way to put on your hearing aids and ensure they remain comfortable, secure, and discreet throughout your day.
Before you start
If you have two hearing aids, make sure you know which hearing aid goes on each ear. They are marked with blue for the left ear and red for the right ear. These colour indicators may be in the form of text, a dot, or the colour of the hearing aid’s shell. Coloured dots are hidden inside the battery drawers on some hearing aids.
On this page you can find instructions for three different styles of hearing aids:
- Behind-the-ear style hearing aids
- Behind-the-ear style hearing aids with a hook and earmould
- In-the-ear hearing aids
-- Scroll down to your hearing aid type --
Putting on behind-the-ear style hearing aids
These instructions are for miniRITE, RITE, miniBTE and BTE styles that don’t have a plastic hook or an earmould. These types of hearing aids sit behind your ear and slightly on top of it.
Place the main hearing aid body behind your ear.
Route the speaker wire or thin plastic tube over the top of your ear.
Hold the bend of the speaker wire or thin plastic tube between your thumb and index finger.
The earpiece should point towards your ear canal opening.
Gently pull your ear outwards and push the earpiece into your ear canal, twisting slightly if necessary.
Putting on behind-the-ear style hearing aids with a hook and earmould
These instructions are for miniBTE and BTE styles that have a plastic hook onto which the plastic tube joins. These types of hearing aid sit on top of or behind your ear.
Gently pull your ear outwards and press the earmould into the ear canal, twisting slightly.
Place the hearing aid body behind your ear.
Removing all behind-the-ear style hearing aids
Lift the main body of the hearing aid off your ear and let it hang down in front of your ear.
Gently pull the earpiece out of your ear canal, twisting it slightly if necessary.
Putting on in-the-ear hearing aids
These hearing aids sit entirely inside the visible part of your ear and are custom-made to fit you.
If your hearing aids have a thin, protruding pin, hold it between your thumb and forefinger.
Hold the hearing aid with the coloured dot face up.
Place the tip of the hearing aid in your ear canal.
Gently pull your ear outwards and push the hearing aid into your ear canal, twisting slightly if necessary.
Follow the natural contours of the ear canal until the hearing aid is fully inserted.
Removing in-the-ear hearing aids
For other in-the-ear hearing aid styles: