(HealthDay News) -- A hearing aid is an expensive and sophisticated electronic device that should be cared for properly to help extend its life.

Here are suggestions for how to keep your hearing aid functioning properly, courtesy of the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:

• Protect your hearing aid from contact with heat or moisture.
• Clean your hearing aid thoroughly and frequently as directed by your audiologist. Excess wax and drainage from the ears can damage the appliance.
• Protect your hearing aid from hair spray and other hair care products. Don't wear the hearing aid until you've finished applying these products.
• Turn your hearing aid off when you're not using it.
• Store batteries in a convenient place, but safely out of reach of children and pets.
• Replace dead batteries promptly.