Cat Got Your Hearing Aid?

It seems hearing aids should come with a warning about how your pets may love them too… Bizarrely, we've actually had people complaining about their cats’ obsessions with their hearing aids.

Cat Attacks Hearing Aid

One customer we spoke to was in the process of ordering an unusually large supply of tubing and domes for one of the behind-the-ear hearing aids. It turned out his cat had ‘attacked’ the hearing aid on two occasions – and had taken a particular dislike to the silicon bits – both times the hearing aid was found to be functioning perfectly, abandoned with the tubing neatly bitten in half. When hearing this, we imagined the next part of the story to be that a visit to the vet had followed to ensure the bits had ‘passed through’ safely, but the dome and other half of the tubing were left lying right next to it. We could almost imagine a smug purring ‘so there…’

Cat Burglar In Full Force. Literally...

Another customer’s cat found himself in the feline equivalent of the guest bedroom after grabbing the hearing aid off the table, charging out the kitchen door cat- flap and disappearing over the neighbour’s wall. Apparently, the cat’s done this with other things before, and there is a good chance that once the snow’s thawed the hearing aid may well be found in the same place as various other bits and bobs.

What To Look Out For

Tell-tale teeth marks on hearing aids are surprisingly common to see at repair labs and we're sure many hearing aid wearers would be able to add to these often costly anecdotes.

How can I stop my cat stealing my hearing aid?

One thing to bear in mind about having hearing aids at home is that if the batteries aren’t removed or the hearing aid isn’t completely switched off when not in use, they can feedback or whistle. The volume of the whistle may be inaudible to the wearer or even someone with normal hearing – but for some pets with far more acute hearing than ours, this could be a very annoying sound; certainly, enough to warrant a bite or two! So make sure you turn your hearing aid off completely when not in use and if your cat still shows an interest then store it in its box to add another layer of prevention.

• Hearing aids
• Hearing loss