turn it off and on again – a quick fix for hearing aid problems

If you’ve ever phoned a computer support helpline or asked your company’s I.T. support team for help then you’ve probably heard these immortal words:

It’s become a bit of a joke but it actually works and solves many computer problems. A computer has two types of memory, one is physically stored on a disk and is remembered every time you use the computer and the other is a short-term memory that is forgotten every time you switch off. If the thing causing problems is in short-term memory then restarting solves the problem.

I guess you can see where I’m going with this?

Hearing aids are mini-computers, they have the same long-term and short-term memories. A hearing aid is running computer software that analyzes the sounds coming into your ear and converts them to something you want to hear based on configurations and settings made by the hearing aid manufacturer and your hearing aid provider.

Just as with computers, hearing aid software can sometimes go wrong (maybe due to a software bug) and so quickly switching it off and then on again may help you hear through until you can get back to the audiologist to get it fixed properly.