Much like glasses, hearing aids can be fashion statements. While many people feel like they need to hide their hearing aids (and there’s lots of discreet options for that), using hearing aids is not something to be ashamed of. There are many different ways to turn your hearing aids into a statement piece, rather than something to tuck away.
The Purpose of Hearing Aid Accessories
Hearing aid accessories make enhance the performance of your beloved hearing aids. From batteries, to dry boxes, to retention clips and more, the purpose of hearing aid accessories is to make your life easy.
Accessorizing Your Hearing Aids with Jewelry
Turning hearing aids into jewelry is a fun new trend that many people are getting into. For the younger hearing aid wearers, there are different charms and additions that you can add to your devices to make them fancy and fun.
Charms for Hearing Aids
Hayleigh Scott, a hearing aid wearer and founder of Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms, is a trendsetter in hearing aid accessories. She created fun jewelry for her hearing aids after noticing many of her peers were ashamed of wearing their own devices. She now sells her charms on Etsy to customers around the country who want to jazz up their hearing aids.
Hearing Aid Accessories for Girls and Boys
Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms isn’t just jewelry for girls, though. She also sells fun charms in different shapes like footballs, basketballs, dragons, aliens, and animals. There’s something for everyone!
Making Your Hearing Aids Fashionable
Styling Your Hearing Aids
In 2015, Audicus partnered with lifestyle brand Advanced Style to create a line of limited-edition patterned hearing aids. Customers could buy hearing aids with polka dots, holographic print, leopard pattern, or covered in glitter—hearing aids for the stylish fashionista.
Non-Permanent Hearing Aids Skins
While Audicus’ high-fashion hearing aids are no longer available, you can still get the fancy and fun look for your hearing aid with hearing aid skins. SmartEar is a Polish company that creates and sells stickers (called “skins”) designed especially for hearing aids. Like laptop skins, these stickers adhere seamlessly to your hearing aids and elevate the device from boring to bold! Skins are not permanent, so you can change them up as you please.
Using Stickers and Soft Vinyl as Hearing Aid Accessories
Lugs is another company that offers hearing aid stickers and other decorations. Each kit comes with soft vinyl accessories plus stickers that make wearing hearing aids fun. These decorations are especially great for younger children who wear hearing devices—Lugs offers accessories for hearing aids, cochlear implants, and BAHAs (bone-anchored hearing aids).
DIY Hearing Aid Accessories
Incorporating Crafts into Hearing Aids Accessories
Are you a craft lover? Do you spend hours on Pinterest and DIY blogs? If so, take a whack at decorating hearing aids yourself! There are many communities of hearing aid users who have come together to share their accessorizing ideas and teach each other how to make hearing aids really pop!
Decorating Your Hearing Aids with Nail Foils
“Pimp My Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants” is a blog dedicated to making hearing aids look cool. It arose from a few hearing aid users chatting online about how to accessorize hearing aids and has since become a great resource for those who want to decorate their devices. Nail foils are an easy and cheap way to decorate hearing aids, especially if you’re particularly crafty.
Hearing aids don’t have to be a source of embarrassment or shame. Celebrate your hearing aids by making them statement pieces and incorporating them into your everyday fashion!
By: Elena McPhillips, updated by Kim Smith in 2021
