Is It OK To Lick My Hearing Aid Shell And Then Place It In The Ear?

NO, no, and NO. Some people wouldn't dream of doing this, but I am surprised every time I see it happen! Usually they do this to lubricate the shell. Recently Dr. Bankaitis covered this question in detail. The article was written specifically for audiologists, but I think that anyone who uses a hearing aid and wants to know why they "shouldn't lick 'em and stick'em" should read the information. Don't download this article if you have a weak stomach! I've placed a link to this small pdf file here (about 168kb's to download). This article is from the American Academy of Audiology web site, www.audiology.org and was published in Audiology Today, Vol 17:6, 2005.