In accordance with the teachings described herein, systems and methods are provided for diagnosing manufacturing defects in a digital hearing instrument. A system may include a hearing instrument component that is electrically connected to a hearing instrument integrated circuit. A diagnostic program may be stored in a memory location on the hearing instrument integrated circuit, the diagnostic program when executed by the hearing instrument integrated circuit being operable to test an operation of the hearing instrument component and indicate a failed operation of the hearing instrument component using a test indicator.