Water Resistant And Waterproof Wearing Aids Available in Brisbane & Caboolture
Most people wear their hearing aids 12 to 16 hours a day in many challenging situations; whether working in the garden, stretching in the gym or playing golf on a hot summer’s day. In all situations, challenging or not, hearing aids need to perform flawlessly.
In order to meet the demands of wearers, hearing aids are designed with reliability and durability in mind. One area that hearing aid manufacturers are increasingly focusing on to improve hearing aid robustness is water-resistance. Water resistance is important for all hearing aid wearers but even more important if you live in a humid region, such as North Queensland.
Water-resistance refers to a hindrance against penetration by water. To achieve water-resistance manufacturers normally use protective “hydrophobic” materials (including housings, microphone coverings), sealants and receiver/speaker protection. Fortunately most hearing aid manufacturers now have hearing aid models that are water-resistant. In order to avoid using vague marketing terms such as “water-resistant” or “waterproof”, ingress protection (IP) ratings have now become the standard in the industry. Read more about IP ratings here.
The IP rating consists of two digits. The first digit indicates the level of protection of the hearing aid from solid foreign objects (e.g. dust). The second digit indicates the level of protection of the hearing aid from harmful ingress of water. In selecting a hearing aid, wearers should look for ratings for at least IP57 or higher:
- IP5x: Dust Protected – Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it does not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the hearing aid
- IPx7 : Water-resistant – Ingress of water in harmful quantities does not occur when the hearing aids are immersed in water for 30 minutes (up to 1 m of submersion)
If you anticipate that your hearing aids will be in regular contact with water (and possibly immersed in water) you should consider getting hearing aids with IP58 ratings or higher. One example of such hearing aid technology is the Siemens Aquaris. The Aquaris is suitable for continuous immersion in water – one of the first instruments of its kind to be successfully tested to the IP68 standard, making it the most robust hearing instrument available; both dust and waterproof.
About Sounds of Life
Sounds of Life Audiology is a leading, independent hearing aid specialist. We offer affordable hearing aid pricing on quality hearing aids (including virtually invisible hearing aid technology) from the world’s leading brands including Siemens, Signia, Phonak, Starkey, Unitron, Resound, Bernafon, Oricon and Sonic Innovations.
Contact Us today on 1300 744 432