Hearing Aids During a Hospital Stay: A Practical Checklist for Families

Why hearing aids matter most in hospital

A hospital stay is exactly when a person needs to hear well: doctors explain treatment, nurses ask questions, and plans change quickly. It is also when hearing aids are most easily lost. A Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust article notes that items can easily get lost or misplaced, especially when patients move from the emergency department to a ward, and points to the impact that having no glasses or hearing aids can have on communication.

This checklist is for families, including those abroad, whose parent in Israel is going into hospital. Hospital procedures differ, so always follow the hospital staff's instructions. The tips below come from patient guidance published by NHS hospitals in the UK.

What to pack

• The hearing aids and their storage case. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust asks patients to bring glasses, hearing aids and dentures together with their storage cases.
• Power. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust lists hearing aids and spare batteries among the things to bring. For rechargeable hearing aids, bring the charger and its cable.
• A short note. Write the make and model, which aid is left and which is right, and how to change the battery or charge them. Tape it inside the case lid.

Label everything

• University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust asks patients to label glasses and hearing aids with their name.
• Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh advises clearly labelling all your property to help keep it safe.
• A Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust leaflet suggests writing left and right on the hearing-aid box. Oticon notes that hearing aids are marked with blue for the left ear and red for the right ear.

Tell the staff

Tell the nurses on the ward that your parent has hearing loss and uses hearing aids, where the case is kept, and whether your parent needs help putting them in. Gloucestershire Hospitals says that, with the patient's permission, its staff could display an ear pictogram by the bedside of an overnight patient. Ask whether the hospital has a similar way to note a hearing need.

Ask staff to make sure your parent has the hearing aids in for ward rounds and important conversations, and to speak facing your parent.

Every night: one place for the case

The Shrewsbury and Telford leaflet advises keeping the hearing-aid box in the same place at night, somewhere visible such as the bedside table. Whenever the hearing aids come out, they go straight into the case, not into a tissue, a pocket or onto a meal tray. NIDCD advises turning hearing aids off when they are not in use.

Transfers and going home

The most risky moments are moves: from the emergency department to a ward, between wards, and discharge. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh advises checking your property carefully before you leave hospital and telling a member of staff if anything is missing.

Check that both hearing aids, the case and the charger come home. If a hearing aid is lost, see lost a hearing aid? what to do next.

Coordinating from abroad

If you are abroad, ask a relative or friend in Israel to be the point person for the hearing aids, and share this checklist with them. A photo of the hearing aids, the case and the charger helps everyone recognise them. See arranging hearing care for a parent in Israel from abroad.

After the hospital

Hearing aids sometimes come home damaged, silent or without a dome. If a hearing aid is not working properly after a hospital stay, see hearing aid repair and service in Israel. You can call G-Sound in English; a home visit may be available subject to location, scheduling and the service required. Confirm availability when you call. G-Sound offers Philips and Oticon hearing aids.