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Rechargeable Hearing Aids

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Are you tired of your hearing aid batteries running out unexpectedly? Modern, rechargeable hearing aids are growing in popularity – and for good reason too. Just place your hearing aid in the charging station when you go to bed, and they are ready to use when you wake up in the morning. What’s more – rechargeable hearing aids mean that you don’t have to buy battery replacements or continue throwing away used batteries, which is beneficial for both your wallet and the environment at the same time.

No more buying replacement batteries

Save money

Environmentally friendly

Rechargeable batteries can last for years

No more buying replacement batteries

Save money

Environmentally friendly

Rechargeable batteries can last for years

Rechargeable Batteries are Getting a Boost

Hearing aids are only as strong as their batteries.

When you’ve got a more complex device, such as one that uses Bluetooth technology for streaming and making calls, you need batteries with increased energy density and capacity.

Consumers want more too: They want batteries to hold their charges longer and they want batteries that are as environmentally neutral as possible. They want the convenience associated with their smartphones and smart homes.

And the answer certainly isn’t batteries that need to be discarded and replaced every three or four days. The answer is rechargeable batteries, which means rechargeable hearing aids are primed to become the market norm.

The Contenders: Lithium-ion and Silver-zinc Rechargeable Batteries

There are two rechargeable batteries available today: lithium-ion and silver-zinc. Brands that offer them include ZPower, Phonak, Signia, Siemens, Oticon and ReSound.

Lithium-ion

Lithium-ion batteries are designed to be small and lightweight, but still have the high energy density necessary for complex hearing aids. Once fully charged, the unit will function for up to 30 hours before needing to be recharged, with a voltage as much as three times that of other rechargeable batteries.

They have a low self-discharge and can be recharged hundreds of times in their typical lifespan of six years, with no battery deterioration over time.

Sealed into the unit case, the battery is protected from elements such as moisture and dust. If you’re sweating in the garden or doing renovation work, you won’t have to worry about your wearable!

Silver-zinc

Silver-zinc rechargeables also provide all-day power, but the lifetime is only one year instead of six. Depending on how depleted the battery, a full charge can take up to seven hours. Because silver-zinc batteries are not available to purchase online, consumers have to go to their hearing care provider to buy new ones.

However, they surpass lithium-ion batteries in terms of energy density; the technology allows much smaller sizes and the batteries are non-flammable, non-toxic and can be recycled.

Silver-zinc batteries can be removed and replaced with zinc-air disposable batteries. This is useful if you’ve forgotten to charge your hearing aids at night or are away from home and didn’t bring your charger with you.

Pros

  • Sustainable: 
    More environmentally friendly compared to standard hearing aids
  • Affordable:
    Save money by purchasing fewer hearing aid battery replacements
  • Easy to use:
    Rechargeable hearing aids are designed to be simple to use for people with dexterity issues

Cons

  • Capacity:
    Requires consistent attention to battery life
  • Choking hazard to children:
    Rechargeable hearing aid batteries are very small and can present a choking hazard to kids

Keeping your rechargeable hearing aid batteries healthy

It’s a good idea to always place your hearing aids in the charging station when not in use – that way you also always know where they are. Charging your hearing aid batteries too often will not drain or shorten the battery life. Quite the opposite in fact. However, you should not store your hearing aids in an unplugged charging station, as this might drain the rechargeable hearing aid batteries and shorten the life expectancy. In case you are not going to use your hearing aids for a while, simply turn them off and store them in a safe place.

If your rechargeable hearing aid batteries are silver-zinc batteries, you should not open the battery door when you are not using your hearing aids, like you might do with normal hearing aids. If you are not using your silver-zinc battery-powered hearing aids for three hours and do not have the opportunity to place them in the charging station, you should remove the batteries and put them somewhere where they do not touch each other or other metallic objects.

Get the Most Out of Your Rechargeable Batteries

Before rechargeables, disposable zinc-air batteries were generally tossed when the hearing aid wasn’t working efficiently. With a rechargeable system, the battery isn’t the first thing blamed, and the entire unit needs to be evaluated.

Some best-practice tips, though, include charging the hearing aids nightly and don’t deplete the battery by skipping days. When you’re not wearing them, whether for a few minutes or a few days, keep your hearing aids in the charger: it won’t overcharge them, but will make sure they stay fully charged.

How to take care of rechargeable hearing aids

In case your rechargeable hearing aids don’t have a battery door, it will contain a lithium battery. It will take about 3-4 hours to fully recharge and will sustain your hearing aids for around 24 hours. The battery itself should last as long as the life of the hearing aid, which is around 4-5 years. After that period, you can purchase new hearing aids or send them to the manufacturer to have the rechargeable hearing aid batteries replaced.

Some rechargeable hearing aids are fitted with silver-zinc batteries. The batteries are removable and can be replaced easily by a hearing care professional. You can expect these batteries to last about one year.

It’s simple to recharge your hearing aids

Connect the charger to a power source using the integrated cable.

Easy to insert with one hand – no lid to open, and no need to turn off your hearing aids.

Place hearing aids in the charging ports to automatically begin charging via contact-free inductive technology.

Discreet LED lights let you see charging status at a glance.

What are the conveniences?
Things to look for when buying rechargeable hearing devices include portable chargers. These are great for travel, especially when you’re going off-grid. The best would be a unit that allowed at least 3 full charges.

Another convenience is an auto-on feature, which simply means that the hearing aids are fully functional when removed from the charger. The lack of an on/off switch is appreciated by users with vision or dexterity issues.

How many hours does it take to recharge the rechargeable hearing aids?
If the battery is completely drained, then the average charging time is around:

  • 3-4 hours to reach full charge
  • 1 hour to reach 50% charge
  • 1/2 hour to reach 25% charge

Note that the loading time can depend on the age of the battery.

How do I know when the hearing aids are fully recharged?
The recharging process stops automatically when the battery is fully charged. On most hearing aids, the hearing aid has a small light which turns green when the battery is recharged.
How do I know when my battery needs to be recharged?
When the rechargeable hearing aid batteries are almost empty, the hearing aids send out a signal, which typically consists of three short beeps.

The signal indicates that there are about 2 hours of usage left before the hearing aids stop working. The warning sound is repeated every 30 min.

How long does my battery last before it needs to be recharged?
If your battery is fully charged, you can expect to wear your hearing aids all day. However, if you stream sound from another electronic device (such as the TV or your computer) for more than 8 hours, then you might have to recharge your hearing aids during the day

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