Can You Recycle Hearing Aids?
The ear is an important part of the body. It is through the ear that sound waves are transferred and registered to the brain. This shows that proper care must be taken to maintain good hearing conditions in all situations.
However, due to some environmental factors, this is not always the case; the ear may be damaged, affecting its ability to pick up some sounds. As a response to this, and to assist in picking up sounds, hearing aids were invented, which have proved useful over the years.
Despite these, there is still a need to consider the effects of these hearing aids on the environment. This is important to help us adjust our mode of use and disposal. This is why this post focuses on some environmental and operational issues of hearing aids. You don’t want to miss out on this. So let’s get in and give you all the information you need!
Are Hearing Aids Recyclable?
Whether or not hearing aids are recyclable has a lot of benefits to the environment. Asides from this, it even helps us to make decisions about their use and be more conscious about their disposal.
Regarding hearing aids, though they are made of recyclable materials like plastics, copper wire, and, sometimes, metals, they are not easily collected for recycling. The reason for this is because of the way these materials have been integrated.
Recycling them would necessarily require first dismantling the hearing aids, which would take a whole lot of time. Also, they may easily fall through the recycling machine and damage it because of their small sizes.
Aside from this, hearing aids are widely considered electrical waste, so recycling is a bit difficult in the local recycling stations. This explains why many local recycling stations have excluded hearing aids from the list of their recyclable materials.
Despite all these, it doesn’t mean that hearing aids can never be recycled. It just means that their recycling has to be handled by expert recycling stations, which are not easily found in local areas.
If you must recycle your hearing aids, you have to make extra efforts to search for organizations that accept them for recycling. If you can’t find any, the best option is to take the hearing aids back to the manufacturers. Here, a proper mechanism for its recycling or disposal would be used.
In all, you can always recycle your hearing aids if you are willing to take the extra effort required. Otherwise, you can just handover your hearing aids to the appropriate hazardous waste management authority. This way, it will be properly disposed of.
Are Hearing Aids Really Effective?
Sometimes, you wonder if the hearing aids are effective. Well, in this post, we will tell you all about that.
Yes, hearing aids are effective. If you think about the purpose of its creation, you will understand this better. Hearing aids were made to enhance the sound being produced in one’s immediate environment. This way, it makes the sound louder in one’s ear.
The hearing aids help you magnify the vibration of the sound that is entering your ear. It also helps to increase the hearing comprehension of those with some form of hearing loss. Asides from these, even if you don’t have any hearing problem, you can still use a hearing aid because it helps make voices more audible in loud places.
Though this pretty much sums up why hearing aids are effective. But then, there might be instances where some hearing aids may not be effective for you.
First, you must remember that hearing aids are not meant to correct the situation of hearing damage; rather, they are supposed to enhance the vibration of sounds in your hearing. So, if you have been thinking of the effectiveness of hearing aids as helping to correct hearing loss, you should take your mind off it.
Another reason a hearing aid might not be effective may be tied to the severity of your hearing damage. If your hearing is deeply damaged, you might need special attention from your audiologist before you begin to feel the hearing aid’s effectiveness. Also, if your hearing for both ears has been damaged, you may need more than one hearing aid for you to feel any effects in your ear.
It also depends on the kind of hearing aid you have been using. Usually, hearing aids provide different vibrations to the ear to enhance sounds. If you don’t know which one you need, it might be difficult for you to feel the effectiveness.
In all, hearing aids are effective. However, feeling their effectiveness goes beyond what you can achieve on your own. This is why we advise you to book a session with your audiologist or otolaryngologist. This way, the expert will carry out a thorough examination of your ear and advise you on what type of hearing aid you need. If there’s also a need to make adjustments to your hearing aids to allow you to hear better, the expert will do it.
Are Hearing Aids Bad For Your Ears?
No doubt, stories abound of how things created to solve a problem later became the source of that problem. But this is not the case with hearing aids.
Hearing aids were programmed to help you hear things better by increasing sound vibrators in your ear. If an expert programs them, they cannot cause any further damage to your ears.
You have indeed heard stories about how loud music playing through an earphone can damage the ear, but this is not the same with a hearing aid. For one, hearing aids have been programmed with sound limits. This means that the sound produced by the devices cannot go beyond the point where they can damage your ear. The device has also been programmed to give you comfort and ensure the safety of your ear.
A hearing aid is so good that even if you get exposed to extremely loud sounds, it won’t damage your ear because of the protection the device offers. If you are wondering whether the new loud sounds being produced by your hearing aid will worsen your ear, let your mind be at rest.
Humans’ auditory system is sophisticated and can pick up and adjust to new sound waves, even when they are persistently loud. This means that if you continuously use your hearing aid, your ears and brain will have to adapt to the new sound waves introduced to them. So, you can let yourself rest about the thoughts of hearing aid becoming bad for your ear.
Can You Donate Used Hearing Aids?
Donating used things is not new; what’s new and might be confusing is what kind of things you can donate? If you wonder if used hearing aids are part of the things you can donate, you have come to the right place to get an answer.
Yes, you can always donate used hearing aids for other people to use. This may be a good way of contributing to humanity.
When you donate hearing aids, the organization that takes possession of them may refurbish the hearing aids and redistribute them to those in urgent need of hearing aids. The organization might also decide to sell them and use the proceeds for some other humanitarian course.
If you want to donate hearing aids, there are some places you can make your donations. These places are;
- Lions Club Hearing Aid Recycling Program
- Hearing Charities of America
- Hearing Loss Association of America
- Sound Seekers
- Help the Aged
- Age Concern
Aside from these organizations and charities, there are also some collection points that you can drop your hearing aids. Some of these places include;
- Audiology departments in hospitals
- Doctor’s surgeries
- Specialists for private hearings
In all, donating used hearing aids is great, but you must ensure that they are all in good condition when donating them. This is important because you are donating not to dispose of but to allow others to have good use of the hearing aids. If they are not in a good operational state, you can repair them before donating. What’s most important is that you don’t give out non-functional or damaged hearing aids.
What To Do With Used Hearing Aids?
It is often said that nothing, once used, is entirely useless. This also applies to your hearing aids. If you think about it, there are myriads of things you can do with your hearing aid.
In this segment, we shall be working with you on what to do with used hearing aids. If you are ready, let’s get to business.
1. Donate Them
Donating used things is a popular option among many people, and your hearing aids do not make an exception. You can always donate your hearing aids to charity homes or other places where they would be of immediate use. Even if charity homes do not directly need hearing aids, they can sell them and use the proceeds for a different charitable course or project.
Please note that you must ensure it is still in great working conditions when donating your hearing aid. This is because your reason for donating is not to dispose of them but to grant others the opportunity to use the hearing aids.
2. Gift Them
If you look around you, you will certainly see people just like you who need hearing aids. Once you identify these people, you can gift them your hearing aids. You can also gift them to friends, neighbors, family members, or colleagues. The most important thing is for them to need hearing aids directly or indirectly. While gifting your hearing aids, you should ensure that the hearing aids are in good condition.
3. Sell Them
If your hearing aids are in great condition, you can put them up for sale. There are many merchant platforms you can sell them. You can check out eBay, Facebook, or even Instagram. Some local thrift shops accept things like hearing aids for money.
In selling your hearing aids, you should know some of the specifications and models to aid transactions and allow you to sell to those in real need of what you have. Above all, to pull a good deal, you should possess good negotiation and persuasive skills.
4. Recycle Them
One other option you can explore is by recycling your hearing aids. Though the recycling options for hearing aids are not common, there are still instances where they are recycled. All you have to do is diligently search for the few organizations that would accept your hearing aids for recycling.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that hearing aids have done a lot to help humans enhance their hearing ability. As great as this is, if they are not properly disposed of, they might cause problems for the environment. Since they are hardly recycled, you can sell, donate or gift them. The most important thing is that you handle them properly so that they do not pose a danger to the environment.
References:
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-aids
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20001010/listen-up-hearing-aids-are-effective#1
