Hearing Aid Repairs in Bundaberg

Hearing aid gone quiet, whistling, cutting out or refusing to charge? AIM Hearing Bundaberg repairs and services hearing aids at our clinic in Avoca, right next door to Stockland Bundaberg (Sugarland Plaza). We look after hearing aids we have fitted and hearing aids fitted by other clinics, so you don’t need to have been our client before.

No appointment needed. Simply drop your hearing aids into the clinic first thing in the morning and tell us what’s wrong. We’ll do our best to diagnose and fix the problem by the end of the business day.

Common hearing aid problems we fix

• No sound or weak sound. Very often a blocked wax guard, dome or microphone filter rather than a broken hearing aid.
• Whistling or feedback. Usually a fit problem, a worn dome or tube, or wax in the ear canal.
• Crackling, distortion or sound cutting in and out. Can be moisture, a blocked receiver or a component fault.
• Rechargeable hearing aids not charging or not lasting the day.
• Bluetooth or phone connection problems.
• Cracked, loose or damaged parts, such as domes, tubes, receivers and battery doors.
• Discomfort or a poor fit, including hearing aids that keep falling out.

How we service and test hearing aids in the clinic

A surprising number of “broken” hearing aids aren’t broken at all. They’re blocked with wax, carrying hidden moisture, or simply due for new parts. We have professional equipment in the clinic to find and fix these problems properly.

Wax guard, dome and microphone filter replacement

Your hearing aid’s microphones sit behind tiny protective filters that gradually clog with dust, skin oils and moisture. A blocked microphone filter can make a hearing aid sound weak, muffled or distorted, even though nothing inside is faulty. We replace microphone filters, wax guards, domes and tubing, which often brings a hearing aid straight back to normal.

MedRx UltraVac+ vacuum cleaning and drying

The UltraVac+ is a professional hearing aid cleaning system. Its fine vacuum wand draws wax and debris out of the places you can’t reach at home, such as receiver and microphone ports, vents and battery compartments, while a separate air-pressure wand blows out stubborn blockages. It also has a short vacuum drying cycle that draws trapped moisture out of the hearing aid.

Redux Pro professional moisture removal

Moisture from sweat, humidity and Bundaberg’s summers is one of the most common causes of hearing aid faults, and it isn’t always visible. Our Redux Pro dryer reduces the air pressure around the hearing aid, which lowers the temperature at which water evaporates. That lets moisture escape from deep inside the electronics without harmful heat, and the system measures how much moisture it has removed so we can tell whether moisture was behind the problem. It is safe for rechargeable hearing aids.

MedRx HIT box performance testing

Once a hearing aid has been cleaned and dried, we can test it in our MedRx Hearing Instrument Test (HIT) box. This is a small sound-proofed test chamber that measures how the hearing aid is actually performing, including its output, gain, frequency response, distortion and battery drain, using international (ANSI and IEC) test standards. It tells us objectively whether the hearing aid is now working as it should, or whether there is a genuine fault that needs the manufacturer.

When a hearing aid needs to go back to the manufacturer

It’s important to be upfront: AIM Hearing Bundaberg is not a manufacturer service centre. Hearing aids are sealed, precision devices, and internal repairs such as replacing a faulty receiver, microphone, circuit board or rechargeable battery, or repairing a cracked shell, must be done by the manufacturer.

Hearing aid repair is a separate trade from audiology and audiometry. It is carried out by specialist repair technicians and the manufacturers’ own repair laboratories, not by hearing clinics. AIM Hearing Bundaberg is not an authorised service and repair agent for any hearing aid brand, and to our knowledge no clinic in the Wide Bay area is. Bundaberg did once have a local hearing aid repair technician, but that service is no longer available, which is why internal repairs now go back to the manufacturer.

If cleaning, drying, part replacement and testing don’t solve the problem, we’ll explain what we found, what your options are and any likely cost, and with your agreement we’ll send the hearing aid to the manufacturer for further investigation and repair. Because we’ve already tested it, the manufacturer gets a clear picture of the fault, and you avoid sending away a hearing aid that only needed a clean.

Hearing aids from other clinics are welcome

You don’t have to go back to the clinic that fitted your hearing aids. We service and adjust hearing aids fitted elsewhere, and if you’d like to move your hearing care to us permanently, we can help with that too. Hearing Services Program clients can read about transferring your provider to AIM Hearing Bundaberg. Conditions apply under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program.

What does a hearing aid repair cost?

• Under manufacturer warranty: faults are usually covered by the manufacturer. Many hearing aids carry a warranty of around three years, so it’s worth checking your paperwork.
• Hearing Services Program and DVA clients: call us and we’ll check what your entitlements cover before any work is done.
• Private, out of warranty: we’ll give you a quote before any work is done, so there are no surprises.

Repair or replace?

If your hearing aids are getting older or the repair cost is high, it may be worth weighing up a replacement. We’ll give you honest advice either way. Our article on when to repair vs replace your hearing aids explains what to consider, and you can see the options on our hearing aids page.

Help your hearing aids last longer

Wax and moisture are the two most common causes of hearing aid faults. Changing wax guards regularly, keeping your hearing aids dry and having your ears checked for wax all help. If wax is a recurring problem, our microsuction ear wax removal service can help. For more tips, read Hearing Aid Repair 101 and how to make your hearing aids work better and last longer.

How to get your hearing aid repaired

1. Drop your hearing aids in first thing in the morning. There’s generally no need to book an appointment. Bring the charger too if your hearing aids are rechargeable.
2. Tell us what’s happening. For example: no sound, whistling, crackling, not charging, or not connecting to your phone. The more detail you give us, the faster we can find the cause.
3. We’ll aim to have it fixed the same day. We’ll clean, dry, test and replace parts as needed, and do our best to have your hearing aids working again by the end of the business day.
4. If it needs the manufacturer, we’ll keep you informed. If we can’t resolve the problem in the clinic, we’ll explain what we found and send your hearing aid to the manufacturer for repair, and you’ll know what’s happening at each step.

Questions before you come in? Call us on 07 4153 1317.

AIM Hearing Bundaberg, Shop 1/1 Heidke St, Avoca QLD 4670. Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.