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My Hearing Sounds Muffled?

Happy mature middle aged adult woman wearing hearing aids waving hand holding digital tablet computer video conference calling by social distance virtual family online chat meeting sitting on couch at home

You’ve been looking forward to this all week: a Zoom call with your son and daughter-in-law. You’ll be able to catch up, check-in, and, have a laugh.

But when the call starts, you are mortified to realize, you can’t hear what your family members are saying. You’re wearing your hearing aids but things still sound muffled.

You can’t believe how frustrated you are.

Modern marvels muffled

Modern hearing aids are known for their ability to deliver crystal clear sounds. So when that doesn’t occur, that can be very depressing. Hearing aids are supposed to help you hear better, right? But, recently, every time you’ve turned your hearing aids on, everything has sounded muffled and distorted (and that’s definitely not an improvement over your regular hearing). The hearing aid itself might not even be the issue.

Why do my hearing aids sound muffled?

Ok, so, if the hearing aid is functioning correctly, why does everybody sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher? Well, there are a few things you can do to correct the problem.

Earwax

You’d be rich if you had a dime for every time earwax caused trouble. Earwax might have built up against the microphone and that could be the source of your trouble. Amplification is muffled when earwax hinders your hearing aid’s ability to detect sound.

You might be able to tell if earwax is the problem by:

  • Visually look over your hearing aids. In other words, take a good look at the hearing aid before you put it in your ear. If you notice any earwax, try to clean it off.
  • Turning the hearing aid on. If the start-up songs and dings all sound fine, but speech is later muffled, the problem is probably with the microphone and not the speaker (and wax is the likely culprit).

Alternatively, it’s possible that earwax in your ear rather than on the hearing aid is the issue here. In those cases, be certain to clean out your ears in a safe way (a cotton swab, by the way, is not a safe way). The troubleshooting will have to continue if the muffled sound remains even after you’ve cleaned your ears and your hearing aid.

Infection

So, if earwax isn’t the issue, the next likely reason will be an infection. This could be a normal ear infection. Sometimes, it may be an inner ear infection. In both cases, a hearing evaluation is suggested.

Swelling of the ear canal and middle ear can be the outcome of both kinds of infection. Your hearing will then sound muffled as this inflammation blocks the transmission of sound. Treatments might include some antibiotics. When the infection has cleared, your hearing will usually go back to normal.

Batteries

You just have to change your battery. Hearing aids can sound muffled when the batteries get low so be sure to watch for that. This is still true even if your batteries are rechargeable. It’s possible, in many cases, that your hearing aids will be crystal clear again after you switch out the batteries with fresh ones.

Hearing loss

It might also be feasible that your hearing loss has changed and your hearing aids need to be reprogrammed to compensate for that. Think about scheduling an appointment for a hearing test if you haven’t had one in the past year. While you’re here getting your hearing aid reprogrammed we can also do an inspection and cleaning.

Don’t let it linger

If you try all this troubleshooting and your hearing is still muffled, it’s certainly worth taking some time to come in for a consultation. You might find yourself leaving your hearing aids in a drawer and turning your TV up again if you don’t resolve this muffling issue. And all of that could start renewed hearing damage.

Letting it linger is not a smart plan. Schedule an appointment with us so you can get back to hearing before that big family event. If you can actually hear what they’re saying you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more.

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.