We are in a heat wave. It is supposed to be warm since it is summer. I hear people say, “It feels like a sauna.” Several years ago I visited a friend in Finland and learned everyone has a sauna. It is a must when you are building your home. Not only did their apartment building have a sauna, each apartment had an assigned time to use the sauna. We took a trip to visit her in-laws at their summer cabin. They built the sauna cabin before they built the summer cabin. Clearly, the sauna was far more important than the “real” cabin.
Major enemies of hearing aids are humidity and dirt. To wear hearing aids into a sauna would be disastrous. To wear hearing aids while working in the garden is not advised. Yet, in the summer wearing hearing aids is just like wearing hearing aids into a sauna. It is very humid.
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Science is great. Scientists develop ways to use materials to help in our daily lives. One is Silica gel. It removes moisture from the environment. I looked it up in the Wikipedia which said it is a naturally occurring mineral. Silica gel is used in packaging to remove moisture during shipment. Most people are familiar with the small packets of “beads” that are included in some items during shipping.
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Silica gel is a great friend to hearing aid wearers. For hearing aid wearers, there is a product called “Dri-Aid Kit” which is basically silica gel. The Dri-Aid Kit removes moisture from hearing aids. The hearing aids are placed into the dri-aid kit at night. It is very important to remove the batteries from the hearing aids prior to putting the aids into the kit. Otherwise, the batteries will be drained of life.
Silica gel has wonderful properties. Not only can the silica gel collect moisture, it can be dried out and then collect moisture again. Hearing aid wearers can purchase dri-aid kits and have them last for years.
It is a comfort to know that scientists can help us keep hearing aids functioning better in the midst of a heat wave and humidity. Hearing well even in the heat is important.
