Hearing Aid Batteries Why Don’t They Last Longer?

How Long Do Batteries Last

A hearing aid battery will last 3 to 5 days.

A size 10 battery will have a shorter life due to the smaller size.

Larger batteries, like a 675 size will usually have a longer life.

Many factors affect battery life – How many of these are you aware of?

 

Advanced Hearing Aid Features

Today’s digital hearing aids are remarkable.  They focus on soft sounds, reduce background noise, and have multiple programs and tinnitus maskers.  They can receive our TV, cell phone, music, and tablet signals directly in our hearing aids.  However, these ADVANCED FEATURES can cause batteries to drain faster.  Don’t stop using these features, but, be aware that if you stream music all day from your smartphone to your hearing aids, you will need to replace the batteries more often.

 

Altitude Change Can Affect Batteries

There is less oxygen at higher altitudes.  Hearing aid batteries require oxygen to produce power.  Changing altitude can affect your batteries, especially if they’re on their last leg. If you need to change a battery while skiing make sure you let the battery breathe AT LEAST one minute before closing it in your hearing aid.  When flying, skiing, or climbing always have spare batteries on hand.

 

Moisture Can Drain a Battery

Moisture can clog the vent on your device, making the hearing aid less efficient. It can even drain the battery directly by interacting with the chemicals that produce electricity.

Here are a few steps you can take to avoid moisture-caused battery drain:

• Open the battery door before storing the aids
• Don’t leave the batteries in if you store them for several days
• Get a hearing aid dehumidifier
• Don’t keep your hearing aids in the bathroom or kitchen

 

Is the Battery Really Drained?

Hearing aids have a low battery warning to let you know when a battery is weak.  Eventually, the hearing aid will quit working when the battery no longer has enough power left to amplify sound.  If the low battery warning occurs it may be caused by an environmental change in humidity or altitude which will temporarily cause the charge to dip and the low battery alarm to be triggered.  Take your hearing aids out, open the battery door and close it again to stop the warning. You may be able to get several more hours or even days out of that battery.

Improper Handling of Batteries

You should never remove the sticky tab from the battery before you’re ready to use it. Always wash your hands before handling your hearing aids or batteries to avoid getting hand oil or dirt on them. Never freeze or refrigerate your hearing aid batteries it doesn’t extend their life.

 

Buying Batteries in Bulk

Buying in bulk is often a smart money decision – however – this is not necessarily true when purchasing hearing aid batteries.  Batteries have an expiration date, if you purchase too far ahead the batteries will no longer be fresh.  We prefer to send batteries to you two packs (32 batteries) at a time.  We purchase batteries directly from Ray-O-Vac every 60 days so our batteries are fresh.  We don’t charge for postage so call us today and we will mail them to you.

 

Online Hearing Aid Batteries

You can get some great deals on-line, but beware of buying hearing aid batteries that way.  You wouldn’t buy milk without looking at the expiration date and you shouldn’t buy batteries without knowing that date either.  Some (less than scrupulous) people will sell batteries online that are very near or even PAST their expiration date. We purchase batteries directly from Ray-O-Vac every 60 days so our batteries are fresh.  We don’t charge for postage so call us today and we will mail them to you.

 

Rechargeable Batteries

If you are in the market for new hearing aids you might consider rechargeable hearing aids. The hearing aids are placed on a charger each night so the battery is fully charged for the next day.   Rechargeable batteries need to be replaced after several years.