Echo in hearing aids: how to get rid or reduce echoing
Do you get frustrated when you speak and hear an echo? Hearing aids try to recreate natural hearing as closely as possible, but even experienced wearers sometimes hear an echo in their ears. When you talk, your voice can sound as if you were speaking in a tunnel or had a head cold, or it can simply seem to boom. First-time wearers are often surprised by it, especially before their hearing aids have been fine-tuned.
The good news is that a reverberating voice is rarely something you have to live with. In most cases, a hearing care professional can reduce it with a few adjustments: some changes can be made during a single appointment, while bigger ones, such as a new earmold, may take a few weeks while the manufacturer makes it. And if you hear an echo without wearing hearing aids, don't wait to get it checked, because it can be a sign of an ear problem or hearing loss.
Hearing an echo, or a booming, hollow version of your own voice, is one of the most common complaints from people who have just started wearing hearing aids. The good news is that not all hearing aids echo, and in most cases the problem can be fixed with a few adjustments to the settings or the fit. The most common cause is the occlusion effect, when the hearing aid blocks the ear canal and traps the sound of your own voice; other causes include the tiny processing delay of digital hearing aids, a poor fit, earwax and the natural adjustment period of new users.
Some people also hear an echo in their ears without wearing hearing aids at all. In that case, the cause is usually in the ear itself and needs a medical evaluation. Below we explain both situations: why hearing aids echo, how to get rid of the echo, and when echo in the ears is a sign of a problem that needs a doctor or audiologist.
Key Takeaways
- Not all hearing aids echo: echo is common with new hearing aids and closed fittings, but it's far from universal.
- The main cause is the occlusion effect: a device that seals the ear canal makes your own voice sound louder, deeper and "inside your head."
- Digital processing adds a tiny delay: in open fittings, mixing the direct sound with the processed sound can make voices sound hollow, metallic or slightly doubled.
- Most echo problems are fixable: reprogramming, a different dome, a bigger vent or a shorter earmold usually solve them.
- New users need time: your brain needs a few weeks to get used to amplified sound, including your own voice.
- Echo without hearing aids needs a check-up: it can be caused by earwax, fluid in the middle ear, a Eustachian tube problem or hearing loss.
Hearing aid echo: what it is
Hearing aid echo is the impression of hearing sounds twice, or of hearing them as if you were in a large, empty room or an “echo chamber.” With echo hearing aids, most people notice it first on their own voice: it sounds louder, deeper or boomy, and sometimes chewing and swallowing sound louder too. Others describe a hollow, tinny or slightly doubled sound, especially when other people speak or when watching TV.
Echo with hearing aids has different causes, and each has its own fix, so it helps to notice when the echo happens: only when you talk, in certain rooms, with every sound, or only in one ear.
What causes an echo?
- In everyday life, an echo is a sound reflected off a surface, such as a wall or a cliff, that reaches your ears after the original sound. When the reflection arrives very close to the original, it doesn't sound like a separate echo but blends into reverberation, the "boomy" quality of large rooms with hard floors and walls.
- With hearing aids, the echoing sound has a different origin: it's usually created inside your ear canal, by how the hearing aid seals it, or by the small delay between the sound reaching your eardrum directly and the sound coming through the hearing aid.
Why does my hearing aid sound like an echo in some rooms?
Why do my hearing aids echo?
Why are my hearing aids echoing? There are several possible causes, and more than one can be at work at the same time:
|
Cause |
What you notice |
Typical fix |
|---|---|---|
|
Occlusion effect |
Your own voice sounds booming, hollow or "in a barrel"; chewing sounds loud |
Less low-frequency gain, open dome, bigger vent, shorter earmold |
|
Processing delay |
Sounds seem slightly doubled, hollow or metallic, especially with open fittings |
Fine-tuning, newer hearing aids with faster processing |
|
Poor fit |
A subtle echo or whistling, because amplified sound leaks out |
Different dome size, new earmold, fit check |
|
Earwax |
Muffled or reverberating sound, sometimes whistling |
Earwax removal, new wax guard |
|
Settings |
Feedback, harsh or echoing sound after a change in your hearing |
Reprogramming, updated hearing test |
|
Adjustment period |
Everything, including your voice, sounds unfamiliar |
Time, regular wear and follow-up visits |
Processing delay
- Digital hearing aids need a tiny amount of time to pick up sound, process it and play it back. ZipHearing notes that processing speeds are as fast as 0.5 milliseconds in modern hearing aids, "but even that isn't fast enough" for some users.
- With open fittings, part of the sound reaches your eardrum directly and part through the hearing aid a fraction of a second later; when the two mix, voices can sound hollow, metallic or slightly doubled.
- Some manufacturers market very low-latency processing to reduce this, such as Widex with what it calls ZeroDelay technology.
Fit, earwax and settings
- Fit: a loose dome or earmold can let amplified sound leak out of the canal and back into the microphone, creating a subtle echo or whistling. One that's too tight can increase occlusion. Ears also change over time, so a fit that was fine a year ago may not be today.
- Earwax: wax can block the ear canal or the hearing aid's wax guard and make sound bounce back. Avoid cotton swabs, which push wax deeper into the canal and risk injuring the ear.
- Settings: too much amplification in the low frequencies, an outdated program or a change in your hearing can all cause echo or feedback that sounds like echo.
Why do my hearing aids echo when I talk?
If your voice sounds like an echo through your hearing aids, but other people's voices sound fine, the cause is almost always the occlusion effect, the most common reason hearing aids echo. When you speak, your voice also travels through the bones of your head and makes the walls of the ear canal vibrate. Normally that low-frequency sound escapes through the open ear canal. When a hearing aid, dome or earmold fills the outer part of the canal, the sound is trapped and the low-frequency sound pressure at the eardrum increases, so your own voice seems to boom or echo. As Melody Audiology puts it, the sound waves from your own voice "are unable to escape."
You can feel the same effect without hearing aids by plugging your ears with your fingers and talking. The occlusion effect is stronger with closed domes and with earmolds that end in the outer, cartilage part of the ear canal, and it's often described as a "head in a barrel" or echo chamber effect.
A second, related cause is sometimes called ampclusion: your hearing aids amplify your own voice more than you're used to hearing it. Experts answering on HearingTracker note that this usually fades with time, and that starting at a lower volume and increasing it gradually helps.
So why am I echoing when I wear a hearing aid, if the fit is right? Sometimes it's the settings: too much low-frequency amplification makes your own voice boomy even with an open fit. Some hearing aids also process your voice separately from other sounds (see Hearing aid echo cancellation below).
Why does my hearing aid sound echoey or hollow?
An echoey, hollow sound that affects all voices, not just yours, usually comes from the processing delay described above: in open fittings, the direct sound and the slightly delayed sound from the hearing aid mix, and voices can sound hollow, metallic or doubled. It can also come from earwax, a clogged wax guard or settings that don't match your hearing anymore.
Echo is not the only way voices can sound "wrong" through hearing aids. Here's how to recognize the most common types of hearing aid voice distortion:
|
What you hear |
Likely cause |
What helps |
|---|---|---|
|
Your voice sounds boomy, hollow or like you're in a barrel |
Occlusion effect |
More venting, open dome, less low-frequency gain |
|
Voices sound tinny, metallic or robotic |
Too much high-frequency gain, or the mix of direct and processed sound in open fittings |
Fine-tuning by your provider |
|
Sound is crackly, cuts in and out or is distorted |
Wax or moisture in the receiver, a clogged wax guard, a low battery or a damaged part |
Clean the device, replace the wax guard, charge or change the battery, dry the aids, then see your provider |
|
Loud sounds are harsh or distorted |
Settings that let loud sounds through too strongly |
Reprogramming |
|
Whistling along with echo |
Feedback from a loose fit or wax |
Fit check, earwax removal, feedback management settings |
If distortion starts suddenly in a hearing aid that used to sound fine, check the simple things first (wax guard, dome, battery, moisture). If that doesn't help, the hearing aid may need repair.
Do all hearing aids echo?
Is having a little echo with new hearing aids normal?
Yes, a little echo with new hearing aids is normal, and it usually improves within the first weeks. Should I hear an echo in my hearing aid after that? No: if it lasts, it's a sign that the settings or the fit need adjusting.
New hearing aid echo problems
Echo is especially common with new hearing aids, for two reasons. First, the initial settings are a starting point: your hearing care professional fine-tunes them at follow-up visits based on how you feel in real life. Second, your brain needs time to adapt. If you've lived with hearing loss for years, you may not have heard your own voice, or many everyday sounds, at their real volume in a long time. When you hear them again, they can seem loud, sharp or echoing. As ZipHearing notes, "the vast majority of people will get used to this in a short period of time."
How to reduce the echo sound with new hearing aids
To reduce echo in hearing aids during the adjustment period:
- Wear your hearing aids every day, for as many hours as you comfortably can. Regular wear helps your brain adapt faster than occasional use.
- Start in quiet places at home, then move on to busier environments.
- Start at a lower volume and increase it gradually, if your hearing aids or app allow it.
- Read aloud or talk to yourself for a few minutes a day to get used to your own voice.
- Keep a short note of when the echo bothers you (your own voice, phone calls, certain rooms). It helps your provider fine-tune the settings.
- Don't skip follow-up appointments, and use your trial period: if the echo doesn't improve after the first weeks, ask for an adjustment rather than putting your hearing aids in a drawer.
How to get rid of echo in hearing aids
1. Reprogram the hearing aids
2. Switch dome styles
3. Increase the vent size
4. Shorten or modify the earmold
5. Get a new earmold
6. Consider a different style or newer hearing aid
You can also help at home: keep your hearing aids and ears clean, replace domes and wax guards regularly, and use your hearing aid app, if available, to try a different program or reduce the bass.
Hearing aid echo cancellation
There’s no single “echo cancellation” button on hearing aids, but several features work against echo, and most major brands offer them in some form:
- Feedback management (or feedback cancellation): detects and suppresses the whistling that happens when amplified sound leaks back into the microphone, which can otherwise sound like an echo.
- Occlusion and own-voice management: settings and algorithms that make your own voice sound more natural.
- Low-latency processing: faster processing reduces the delay between direct and amplified sound.
- Automatic programs and noise reduction: modern hearing aids detect the listening environment and adjust, which helps in reverberant rooms.
Phonak, Oticon, Signia and Widex hearing aid echo
Echo can happen with any brand, including Phonak, Oticon, Signia, ReSound and Widex hearing aids, and the fixes above apply to all of them. Some brands highlight specific technologies:
- Signia offers Own Voice Processing (OVP), which learns the wearer's voice in about 10 seconds during fitting and processes it separately from other sounds. In a small Signia-affiliated study published in Hearing Review, satisfaction with one's own voice in closed fittings rose from 4.1 to 5.7 on a 7-point scale with OVP on.
- Widex promotes very low-latency processing, which it calls ZeroDelay, to reduce the hollow, doubled sound of open fittings.
- Phonak and Oticon users can address echo with the same tools: adjusting low-frequency gain, feedback management and the venting or dome. For Phonak custom models, one expert on HearingTracker suggested asking about a titanium shell version, which can help reduce occlusion.
Ask your provider which own-voice and feedback options are available on your model.
Echo on phone calls
Hearing aid echo problems: when to see a hearing care professional
See your audiologist or hearing aid specialist if:
- the echo doesn't improve after the first few weeks of regular wear;
- it starts suddenly in hearing aids that used to sound fine;
- you notice new sensations, a change in your hearing, or fullness in the ear;
- your lifestyle changes, for example if you start spending more time in busy or noisy places;
- you suspect other ear issues, such as fluid in the middle ear, which can also cause reverberation.
Ask your provider to check the fit with real-ear measurements, which show how sound actually reaches your eardrum, and to confirm with a hearing test that your hearing hasn't changed.
Why is my ear echoing when I talk?
Why do I hear an echo in my ear?
Why is my ear echoing even when I'm not talking? If other sounds seem doubled or echoed, the cause may be diplacusis (double hearing): the same sound is heard differently in each ear, either at a different pitch or with a slight delay, so it sounds doubled or echoed. It can affect one ear or both (diplacusis binauralis). Possible causes of an echo in the ear include:
- obstructions such as earwax, an ear infection, fluid in the middle ear or clogged sinuses;
- Eustachian tube problems, including after a cold or with allergies;
- loud noise exposure and age-related hearing loss;
- head trauma;
- certain medications that can affect the inner ear;
- autoimmune disorders;
- less commonly, growths or tumors along the hearing pathway.
How to get rid of echo sound in ear
How to get rid of an echo sound in the ear depends on the cause, so the first step is a check-up with a doctor or audiologist. Removing an obstruction, such as earwax or fluid, usually resolves the echo, and Eustachian tube problems often improve once a cold, allergy or sinus problem is treated. Don't try to remove earwax with cotton swabs, which push it deeper into the canal. If the cause is sensorineural hearing loss, the damage is usually permanent, but hearing aids, cochlear implants and auditory rehabilitation can help.
See a doctor right away if the echo comes with sudden hearing loss, ear pain or drainage, dizziness, or symptoms in only one ear. Sudden hearing loss is a medical emergency, and early treatment can improve the chances of recovery.
Does Amazon Echo work with hearing aids?
Some searches for “echo hearing aids” are about Amazon’s Echo smart speakers rather than an echoing sound. The short answer: Alexa can’t connect directly to most hearing aids, and whether an Echo speaker can stream to yours depends on your model. According to hearing aid maker Audibel, not all Bluetooth hearing aids are directly compatible with Echo devices; some users connect through the Alexa app and a remote microphone accessory that provides a classic Bluetooth connection. There are easier options:
- Alexa on your phone: pair your hearing aids with your smartphone, and audio from the Alexa app streams to them like any other phone audio.
- Fire TV: compatible Bluetooth hearing aids can pair directly with some Amazon Fire TV devices, such as the Fire TV Cube (2nd and 3rd Gen), via Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Aids.
Can an Echo connect to Oticon hearing aids, or will an Amazon Echo connect to other Bluetooth hearing aids? It depends on the model and its Bluetooth standard, so check your hearing aid’s compatibility list or ask your provider.
Common hearing aid complaints and quick fixes
Echo is one of several issues new and experienced wearers report. Here are the most common hearing aid complaints and what usually helps:
|
Complaint |
What usually helps |
What your hearing care professional can do |
|---|---|---|
|
My own voice sounds strange, boomy or echoing |
Give yourself time to adapt |
Venting, open domes, less low-frequency gain |
|
Whistling or feedback |
Check the fit |
Remove earwax, adjust feedback management |
|
Background noise is too loud |
Noise reduction programs |
Directional microphones, fine-tuning |
|
Sounds are too sharp or tinny |
Give your brain time to adjust |
Reduce high-frequency gain |
|
Sound is muffled, weak or cuts out |
Replace the wax guard or dome, clean the device, charge or change the battery |
– |
|
Discomfort or soreness |
– |
A different dome size or a remade earmold |
|
Bluetooth or app connection problems |
Re-pair the devices, update the app and firmware, check phone compatibility |
– |
f a problem lasts more than a few weeks, don't simply put up with it: most complaints can be solved with an adjustment by your hearing care professional.
Conclusion
How long does it take to get used to the echo of new hearing aids?
Most people adapt within the first weeks of regular wear. If the echo doesn't improve, ask your provider for an adjustment rather than waiting.
Is there an echo cancellation feature on hearing aids?
Not by that name, but feedback management, own-voice or occlusion management, low-latency processing and automatic programs all help reduce echo. Your provider can adjust them.
FAQs about hearing aid echo
Can earwax make my hearing aids echo?
Can I fix hearing aid echo myself?
Why does my hearing aid echo in only one ear?
** Some images in this article were generated using artificial intelligence.
