How to Clean Hearing Aids, According to the Phonak, Widex and Oticon User Guides

Where these cleaning steps come from

This page covers the device only, from the people who made it. Each step is paraphrased from the user guide of a named model, read again on November 3, 2026: Phonak's US guide for the rechargeable Audéo I-R (August 2024), Widex's user instructions for the MOMENT BTE behind-the-ear model on a disposable battery (November 2020), and the UK edition of Oticon's instructions for the Opn miniRITE (October 2016).

The 3 share one rule: water and cleaning products stay off the electronics. They draw the line in different places, though. Widex's guide rules out any liquid or disinfectant. Oticon's says the aid must never be washed or immersed. Phonak's rules out household detergents and soap and advises against rinsing, yet asks for a soft, damp cloth on the earpiece and charging contacts every week. Read the guide that came with your own aid before borrowing a step from another brand.

Daily and weekly cleaning, maker by maker

Phonak splits the work into daily and weekly tasks. Every day, check the earpiece for wax and moisture and clean the aid's surfaces with a lint-free cloth. Every week, clean the earpiece with a soft, damp cloth or a cloth sold for hearing aids, and wipe the charging contacts on the aid with a soft, damp cloth. For a deeper clean, the guide sends you to the hearing care professional for advice on filters and drying methods.

Widex asks for cleaning every day, wiping the aid with a soft cloth such as the one the hearing care professional supplied, and for a daily check after use that the aid isn't broken. Oticon's guide gives no fixed interval for the aid itself. Its method is a soft, dry cloth, and it asks you to hold the aid over a soft surface while you handle it, so a drop doesn't damage it.

The microphone openings get the most cautious wording. Oticon's guide allows a gentle brushing of the surface with a clean brush, never pushed into the openings. Widex's says to contact the hearing care professional if they are blocked, and Phonak's says never to wash the microphone inputs.

The cleaning tools that come in the box

Widex lists 5 items supplied with the MOMENT BTE: a cloth, a brush, a long and a short wax-removing tool, and a magnet for handling batteries. Oticon's Opn guide describes a single MultiTool that holds a battery magnet, a brush and a wire loop for cleaning, and warns that its magnet should stay away from credit cards and other items sensitive to magnets. Phonak's Audéo I-R guide names a lint-free cloth for daily care and a special hearing-aid cleaning cloth as an option for the weekly one; it doesn't list a tool kit in its care chapter.

Drying products appear in 2 guides, both times through the professional. Widex mentions that some wearers use a dehumidifier such as its own PerfectDry Lux, and tells you to ask the hearing care professional whether it suits you. Phonak suggests a box with a drying capsule, or a well-ventilated spot, when an aid goes unused for a long time. None of the 3 guides gives a price for these items, and our dated retail readings hold none either, so this page quotes no cost.

Wax filters, domes and earpieces: replace, don't wash

The parts that clog are changed, not scrubbed. Phonak's guide asks you to check the earwax protection on the speaker regularly and to exchange it when it looks dirty or the volume or sound quality drops; it sets a replacement every 4 weeks on a regular receiver and every 2 weeks on its ActiveVent receiver, and notes that your professional can set another cycle. The same guide says to change the dome every 3 months, or sooner if it turns stiff or brittle.

Oticon's guide is just as firm about domes: a dome or Grip Tip isn't cleaned at all, it's replaced when filled with wax, and a Grip Tip is replaced at least every 1 month. The white wax filter on the speaker is changed when it clogs, with the filter tool described in the guide or by the hearing care professional. Custom moulds are the exception: they're cleaned regularly, the vent is cleared by pushing the brush through it with a slight twist, and their own filter is replaced when clogged or when the aid doesn't sound normal. Widex leaves its ear-set to a separate manual. The table above sets the 3 rules side by side.

If a hearing aid gets wet

Oticon's guide has the most complete routine for an aid that gets wet and stops working: wipe off the water, open the battery drawer, take the battery out and wipe the drawer, let the aid dry with the drawer open for about 30 minutes, then put in a new battery. Widex says to dry the aid quickly when it gets wet or after heavy perspiration, to leave the battery compartment open when the aid isn't in use, and never to dry it in a microwave oven. Phonak's water, sweat and dust resistance holds only if the aid is cleaned and dried after exposure and looked after as the guide describes, and aid and charger are to be kept dry and clean.

How cleaning affects the warranty

Care sits inside the warranty terms of 2 of the guides. Phonak's limited international warranty doesn't cover damage from improper handling or care, exposure to chemicals or undue stress, and service by third parties or non-authorized centers makes it void. Oticon's excludes problems from improper or incorrect handling or care, corrosive conditions, foreign objects entering the device and repairs by an unauthorised party, and says they may void it. Widex's MOMENT guide has no warranty section; it says never to open or repair the aid yourself.

The parts you replace while cleaning are outside both warranties: Phonak's leaves out tubes, earpieces and external receivers, Oticon's batteries, tubing, speakers, earpieces and filters. So the warranty doesn't pay for those replacements. When cleaning doesn't bring the sound back, our hearing aid troubleshooting page lines up each guide's checks for no sound, weak sound and restarts.