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Troubleshooting guide: My hearing aids keep falling out
Expert advice on why your devices may not stay in — and how to help solve the problem.
Does this sound familiar? You’re doing your regular daily activities when one of your hearing aids slips out of your ear. It’s happened more than once, and you can’t figure out why your devices won’t stay in.
“This is a relatively common problem,” says Michelle Christie, a hearing instrument specialist at Clarity Professional Hearing Aid Center in Fernandina Beach, Florida. And it can happen for a variety of reasons.
If you’ve just gotten new hearing aids, for example, you might need to see your hearing care professional for a fit adjustment.1 Or it could be an issue you can fix quickly at home by reinserting your devices.
The good news is that there are solutions. Learn some of the culprits that can cause hearing aids to fall out, plus get expert tips on how to find a secure fit.
1. You haven’t inserted them correctly
You put your hearing aids in every morning. And if you don’t insert them securely, they could slowly work themselves out of your ears during the day.
Try taking out your hearing aid and putting it back in again. This trick may help: Hold the hearing aid in one hand, and before you insert it, use your other hand to lift the top curve of your ear upwards. That will straighten out your ear canal and help you get a better fit, says Christie. “Then gently press in the hearing aid and give it a final nudge with your pinky finger to make sure everything is in place.”
2. The ear wire is too short
If you have new hearing aids, your hearing care professional may need to adjust the ear wire. This is the wire that runs from the plastic case behind your ear into the ear canal.2 If it’s a little too short, the dome at the end of the wire won't reach far enough into your ear canal to get a secure fit.
“When we do the initial fitting, we estimate the wire length we should order, but sometimes it's hard to tell until the person wears the hearing aids for a week or so,” says Christie.
3. The ear dome is too big or too small
Ear domes are flexible rubber caps that fit over the hearing aid’s receiver (speaker). That’s the part that sits deep inside your ear canal, close to your eardrum. This replaceable part may be the wrong size for your ear canal, which can lead to fit problems. “If the dome is too small, it might work its way out of your ear, and if it’s too large, it won’t go all the way in,” says Christie.
See your hearing care professional, who can swap in a dome that fits your ear canal better.
Through EPIC Hearing Healthcare, you get up to 3 follow-up visits at no extra cost and a trial period to try out your new prescription hearing aids. Learn more.
4. They fall out when you exercise
Do you hike, play tennis or do yoga? “For active people, I am a huge fan of something called a retention tail,” says Christie. It’s a flexible strip of plastic a few inches long that slips over the hearing aid’s receiver. You cup the strip into the lower bowl of your ear. “It helps hold the hearing aid securely in the ear canal, almost like a kickstand,” she says. These are sometimes called sports locks. Your hearing care professional can add a retention tail to your devices.
In-the-ear, custom hearing aids are a good option for active people, too, says Christie. They are custom molded to fit perfectly in your ear canal for a secure fit.
5. Your glasses sometimes pull on your hearing aids
Between prescription glasses, readers and sunglasses, many people put on and remove glasses multiple times a day. “Behind-the-ear hearing aids have pretty small receiver wires that sit firmly against your head,” says Christie. So there should be space for your glasses too.
But try to get in the habit of lifting the arms of your glasses gently over the wire before you take them off, suggests Christie. That way you won’t drag the wire with the arm of your glasses.
Sources
- Hearing aids National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Accessed June 25, 2025.
- Hearing aids and personal sound amplification products: What to know U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed June 25, 2025.
Information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical provider. Consult your provider prior to making changes to your lifestyle or health care routine.
Hearing aids purchased in the Silver technology level will receive 1 follow-up visit.
