From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

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Baby hearing aids: keeping them in, and daily care

This page is for families of babies and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing and wear hearing aids. Families communicate in many ways, with sound, speech, signs or all of them, and the audiologist's plan follows the way your family chooses.¹² It covers the everyday part: the hours, the first weeks, keeping the aids in, the morning check, cleaning, batteries, sleep, water, daycare, comments from other people and appointments. It is built from the handouts of children's hospitals, audiology services and deaf children's charities in the US, the UK and Australia, and where they disagree, it says so.

This page describes daily life with hearing aids. It does not diagnose anything or weigh in on how your child should communicate. Your audiologist's instructions come first, and anything about your child's hearing is a question for them.

How many hours

The goal is aids in during all waking hours, often at least 10 hours a day, or about 9 for babies under 1. Your audiologist may set a different goal.³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹ The goal is hearing aids in whenever your child is awake. Building up to that is normal, and your audiologist can help set the pace.²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸

Hearing aids help a child hear the speech around them, and children learn from what they hear.³¹⁰¹¹ In a long-running US study summarized by AudiologyOnline, children who wore their aids more than 10 hours a day improved their language scores between ages 2 and 6, and children who wore them less did not. The same research found that wear time for children under 2 is often under 4 hours a day.⁹ Small amounts add up: Central Institute for the Deaf points out that 30 minutes a day is 15 listening hours over a month.¹² And NDCS says it plainly: it's important not to put too much pressure on yourself.²

Sleep is not missed time. Babies don't need their aids in while they sleep, and the goal is about the hours they are awake.²⁶⁸

The first weeks

Start at home, when your child is rested and happy and someone is talking and playing with them.²⁷ Let your baby watch in a mirror while you put the aids in, and smile.⁷ Warming the earmolds in your hand for a couple of minutes first can help.²

Most handouts build up gradually, and they differ on where to start. Success For Kids With Hearing Loss suggests 3 or 4 times a day for 15 to 30 minutes in the first few days, a bit longer each day after that, and wearing them all waking hours within about three weeks.¹³ NDCS suggests starting with just a couple of minutes several times a day.² Seattle Children's notes that some children can wear them all day from the start.⁷ Ask your audiologist what pace suits your child. Some children wear them all day from the start, and some begin with a couple of minutes at a time. Already wearing them all day? Pick no build-up.²⁵⁷

Some families build up by routines instead of hours: aids in for one or two daily routines, like dressing or meals, then add the next.¹²¹⁴ Central Institute for the Deaf suggests a time of day with lots of talking, like book time or meals, or a short routine like a diaper change.¹²

Keeping them in

Make it part of getting dressed: aids in when your child wakes, out before bed.²⁴⁶¹³ Many newborns accept aids well. Pulling them out usually starts once babies can reach and grab, from about 4 months, and it is a normal stage.²⁶

If an aid comes out, calmly put it back. If your child is upset, tired or unwell, a short break is fine.²³⁴⁶¹⁴ The handouts differ here. Some say to put the aids back every single time, and one calls it non-negotiable,³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶ while NDCS says not to force it and that it's fine to take a break and try again later.² Staying calm matters either way: overreacting can turn it into a power struggle.¹⁵ Teach your child that taking the aids out is a grown-up's job.⁷¹⁵

Keep pulling them out? Check the fit and the sound first. A loose mold, wax, or sound that is too loud or too soft can all be the reason.²³¹⁴¹⁵ Babies quickly learn to pull out aids that aren't giving them useful sound.¹⁵

A thin cap, a clip on the back of the collar, or wig tape can keep aids on and stop them getting lost or mouthed.²³⁶¹⁵¹⁷ Use a clip with a cap, since you can't always see whether the aids are still in under it.¹⁵ If you use a cap, ask your audiologist to check it doesn't change the sound much.¹⁷ Watch for redness or a rash from the tape or the mold material, which happens rarely.²¹⁵

Feeding and lying down

Whistling while feeding or lying down is common in young babies. Change position, or take the aid out briefly. It usually eases as head control improves.²⁸¹⁸ NDCS also suggests pillows behind your baby or turning the volume down for a feed.²

The morning check

A hearing aid only helps when it is in and working, so the morning check matters as much as the hours.¹⁹²⁰ Before the aids go in:

Battery: test it with the battery tester, and change it if it's low.
Listen: through the listening tube or stetoclip, the sound should be clear, with no crackling or cutting out. For a powerful aid, use the attenuator.
Look over: cracks, loose parts, and wax or moisture in the tubing.
Battery door: locked.
Ears: sore spots, redness, or any discharge.
Check each aid on its own.

³¹⁰¹¹¹⁸¹⁹²¹ Even working aids can sound a little strange to a hearing adult, so listening every day helps you learn how they normally sound.¹⁸ If an aid isn't working even with a good battery, call your audiologist.²¹

Some families add a quick sound check on the child. With your face out of sight, say a few speech sounds (ah, ee, oo, mm, sh, s) one at a time and watch for your baby to go still, widen their eyes or otherwise alert. Try it close and from farther away, with each aid on its own.¹⁶¹⁹

Cleaning and drying

Wipe the earmolds every day and wash them in warm soapy water once a week. Let them dry fully.³¹⁸²² Most handouts say warm soapy water. One NHS leaflet suggests antiseptic wipes, while NDCS says never to use disinfectant or bleach, so ask your audiologist which suits your molds.¹⁸²³

At bedtime, wipe the earmolds, take out the batteries, put the aids in the drying kit, and keep them somewhere children and pets can't reach.³¹⁹²¹ The tubing usually needs replacing every 4 to 6 months.³¹⁸

Batteries and small parts

If you think your child swallowed a battery or put one in their ear or nose, go to the ER or call 911 right away.¹⁷²⁴²⁵²⁶

Sources differ on what to do while you wait for help, so follow what the emergency team tells you.¹⁷²⁶ The AAP suggests posting the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (800-498-8666) with your emergency numbers at home.²⁶

Batteries are dangerous if swallowed. Use the locked battery door, change batteries out of your child's sight, and keep spares and used ones out of reach. Tape used ones before throwing them away.⁶¹⁷²⁴²⁵²⁶²⁷ Children up to about 5 should have locking battery doors, and so should older children who spend time with little ones.⁶¹⁷²⁴²⁷ Where used batteries can be thrown away differs by place.³²⁴ An earmold is small enough to choke on too, and young children should never be left alone with their aids.¹⁷²⁴

Sleep

Take the aids out for sleep, and never leave a young child alone with them.²⁶¹³²⁸ Naps are where the handouts differ: Hearing Australia says there's no problem if your baby falls asleep with them in, though they will probably sleep more comfortably without them, and one handout says naps are fine with locked battery doors.⁸¹⁶ If your child dislikes the quiet, take the aids out after they fall asleep.²⁸

Bath, water and outdoors

Take the aids out for the bath and swimming unless your audiologist says yours are waterproof.³¹⁸¹⁹²⁵²⁸ Some aids are water-resistant and a few can go underwater, so it depends on the model.⁵⁶¹⁹ If an aid gets wet, take out the battery and dry it gently.¹⁸ Keep aids away from heat, and take them out for hairspray or a hair dryer.¹⁴

The car and outings

Aids tend to come out more in places you can't watch closely, like the car, the park or the store.⁹ Families handle it differently. One Hands & Voices parent kept the aids out in the car until her daughter was older,¹⁵ while Central Institute for the Deaf encourages outings with clips and caps, because new places bring new words.¹² Hearing Australia notes that child-resistant pouches are available for carrying aids when you are out.¹⁷

Daycare, sitters, family and siblings

Everyone who looks after your child plays a part, so show sitters and daycare the routine and where the aids are kept.¹²¹⁵ Small parts and batteries are a risk to brothers, sisters and other children at daycare too.²⁴ Some children keep their aids in better for other adults than for their parents.¹⁵ As children grow, teach them to put a removed aid in its safe place or hand it to a grown-up.²¹⁷

Comments from other people

Many families get questions. One parent writing for NDCS asks people to ask first, to never assume she is sad about her son's deafness, and, if they must comment, to tell him his aids are cool.²⁹ Meeting other families, and other children who wear aids, helps.²⁸ Stickers or brightly colored molds make aids more fun, and easier to find.²¹⁴¹⁵

When to call

Any discharge from the ear: take the aids out and call your child's doctor.⁶¹⁸²³²⁸
Your child seems uncomfortable or in pain with the molds, or seems bothered by loud sounds (lots of blinking, or distress).²³¹⁵
Your child responds less than usual, or you think their hearing has changed.³¹⁶¹⁹
An aid is damaged, lost, or not working even with a good battery.⁴¹⁸²¹
Whistling that doesn't stop, or a mold that no longer fits.³¹⁸²⁵
You're struggling to keep them on. Don't wait for the next visit.²⁴⁵
Lots of wax: ask your audiologist or doctor rather than removing it yourself.³¹⁸²⁵

Appointments: what to bring

Visits come often at first: every 2 to 6 months in the first two years at Seattle Children's, every 3 months until wear is steady at Sheffield, and more often for babies at Southampton.⁴²⁷³⁰ Bring the aids and all their parts, and your questions written down.⁴³¹³² Your child's aids keep their own log of hours worn, which your audiologist reads at visits. This log adds when they were in and why they came out.³⁴⁹ Keep your last earmold as a spare, in case an aid is lost.³¹ Ears need to be free of wax before impressions for new molds can be taken.³²³

When things change

Whistling, or a mold that looks loose, often means your child's ears have grown and new molds are due.³⁵⁸¹⁸²² How often is where the handouts differ: about every 3 months in the first year at Seattle Children's, as often as monthly for babies at NDCS, every few weeks at Southampton and Hearing Australia, and 3 to 4 sets a year at CHOP.⁵⁸¹⁸²⁷³⁰ So go by the signs, and ask.

The aids are reprogrammed as hearing tests give more detail.¹¹ An ear infection means the aids stay out until it heals, and a strong smell from a mold can be a sign of one.⁶¹⁸²⁸ Keep going to hearing appointments. The aids are adjusted as hearing tests give more detail, and earmolds are remade as ears grow.¹¹³⁰ In Southampton's words, eventually most children find themselves wearing their aids all day every day.²⁷

How YummyYucky's free hearing aids tracker helps

The hearing aids tracker is free, and it stays out of sight until you turn it on, under Care extras on your child's page or from the line at the bottom of Health. You pick which ears and the battery type, and the goal starts at 10 hours a day for you to change. A card on the Today screen shows whether the aids are in and the hours so far against today's goal, with one tap for “Aids in” and “Aids out”. When they come out, you can tap why: a nap, the bath, the car, pulled out and more.

Time during a nap or night sleep you have logged is not counted. The morning hearing aid check is one tick, with the list above one tap away. The hearing aids page keeps the history a day at a time and weekly totals with why the aids came out, ready to talk over with your audiologist beside the aids' own log. There's an ear check with a photo if you want one, and a build-up for the first weeks based on the Success For Kids With Hearing Loss example, or your own. It works offline, and everyone logging for your child sees the same thing on their own phone.

Sources

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Track hearing aid time?

Free. It keeps the hours the aids are in against your goal, the morning check, ear checks and why they came out, and stays hidden until you turn it on.

Open the hearing aids tracker

Last updated September 2026. Next review December 2026. How we write these: built from current published guidance from the AAP, CDC, FDA/EPA, NIAID, WHO, and other pediatric and public-health authorities, with sources cited on the page. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these, and how we double-check the food advice.

This is general information, not medical advice, and is not individualized for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

Some links in our guides are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only suggest things we'd actually use, and it never changes our guidance.

Baby hearing aids: keeping them in, and daily care

How many hours

The first weeks

Keeping them in

Feeding and lying down

The morning check

Cleaning and drying

Batteries and small parts

Sleep

Bath, water and outdoors

The car and outings

Daycare, sitters, family and siblings

Comments from other people

When to call

Appointments: what to bring

When things change

How YummyYucky's free hearing aids tracker helps

Related reading

Sources

Track hearing aid time?