12 Tips To Make Hearing Aid Batteries Last Longer

For people with hearing impartiality, their hearing device is the most important thing. Taking care of the device is their first priority. Hearing aids are expensive and one is more concerned about their devices than any other product. Thus how to make hearing aid batteries last longer?

Hearing devices are equipped with batteries, either rechargeable or non-rechargeable.

Rechargeable is the one that can be recharged once the battery power gets low.
Nonrechargable is the one that is used and after the expiration of the battery, they are either exchanged or thrown away.

Hearing Aid Batteries: Table of Content

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Non-rechargeable are cheaper than the rechargeable one. There are various hearing aid brands or manufacturers providing the batteries for the hearing aids.

Some of them are Resound, Siemens, Starkey, Unitron, Widex, Phonak, and many more. They can be in many different sizes and each one gives a variety of battery life depending on the power.

Hearing Aid Batteries Life Chart

There are basically 5 types of batteries available in the market. They differ in size and battery life. They are also labeled with a different color for ease of recognition. Below are all the batteries you can choose for your hearing device:

Size 10, labeled as yellow, battery life 3-7 days
Size 312, labeled as a brown, battery life 3-10 days
Size 13, labeled as orange, battery life 6-14 days
Size 675, labeled as blue, battery life 9-20 days

Size 5 is the smallest of all the batteries and is rarely used. The battery life totally depends on the no. of hours you use it in a day. Using 16 hours a day, it may differ and can last up to 14 days.

Depending upon the size and feature the hearing device provides, the batteries included may vary from low to high. Previously mercury was used in the hearing aids but now zinc-air batteries are in trend. Let discuss these trending batteries:

ZINC -AIR Batteries

These batteries use a technology called Zinc-Air Technology. It is basically the chemistry between ZINC and the AIR to power small devices like hearing aid for a longer period of time.

Zinc and air are the two reactants used in this technology. Air react up with zinc to provide the oxidation required to run the hearing aid device.

So they are sealed with some plastic tab in order to avoid the air to pass. As soon as the plastic is removed, oxygen reacts with zinc to power up the hearing device.

Why is this technology used other than the regular lithium or another type of batteries used in the other devices? The answer is since the zinc-air technology uses the air as it’s one of the reactants, all the portion of the battery is used up by the zinc itself since the air is absorbed from the surrounding itself, is disposable which means after the battery life is exhausted you can dispose of it and also has high battery life.

Now let’s discuss the 12 ways or tips to increase the life expectancy of your hearing aid batteries.

12 Tips To Make Your Hearing Aid Batteries Last Longer

Let us first know how battery life is affected in the zinc-air technology-powered batteries. The longevity of your batteries may vastly depend on the factors like:

Humidity
The simplicity of the hearing device. More the technology equipped in the hearing aid devices, the more is the draining of the battery and lower the battery life.
Battery life is also affected by the high altitude
Temperature variation
Loud Noises

How to make hearing aid batteries last longer? Below are 12 tips and techniques you can try to enhance the battery life and ensure better use of the batteries

1. The Plastic Tab

Before placing the batteries for use in your hearing aid, it is necessary to know that the batteries are closed with a plastic tab.

We know that as soon as the zinc gets exposed to air, it creates a voltage that is used to run the hearing device.

So it is important that removing the plastic tab and that should only be done if you are going to use the device as soon as possible.

Because leaving the tab open will reduce the battery life as it can’t be undone.

2. Rule of 5-Minute

We know that the zinc and air are the two reactants to supply the voltage necessary for the batteries of the hearing aid. After removing the plastic tab, let the battery get the proper amount of air.

Just leave them for 5 min and this will improve the life of your battery by 80%.

What happens is that the air goes to the pores of the battery and helps to retain the voltage required to power the hearing device.

3. Old Battery First

If you want to use your batteries for a longer period of time, it is necessary to use the old battery to its’maximum lifespan and only use the new one if the battery is drained completely.

Because once you un-tabbed the new one the voltage keeps on draining at a certain ratio and the battery life decrease. Thus using an old battery first is always a good idea.

4. Store at Room Temperature

Exposing the batteries to different temperatures may damage the battery and the lifespan. Traditionally, lowering the temperature of the batteries meant that the life of batteries would remain constant and hence we can use it for a longer period of time.

But in this case, if batteries are exposed to lower or higher temperature, the zinc inside gets affected and hence can highly affect your battery life.

5. Dehumidifier

Humidity is one of the major factors affecting battery life as well as the device. If you think your room is getting humid then you can opt for a dehumidifier.

This will take all the humid air from the room and retain the battery life you expect from your hearing device.

6. Wash Your Hands

Before putting the batteries in the hearing aid or removing it, ensure that you wash your hand nicely. This is important because the dirt and dust in your hand can highly impact not only on your battery life but also your ear.

Germs may get inside you and your battery. This will affect both of you.

7. Dismantling the Battery

At night, you can remove the battery and turn off the hearing aid. The hearing device will not use the battery and you can save much more for a long time if you do so regularly.

This might not save the zinc from oxidizing but save the power used up by hearing device.

8. Open the Door

At night, you can open the door of the battery compartment to remove the humidity inside it. Let it breathe with some fresh air and see how this will affect positively the batteries life.

Place them in a cool and dry place so that not any sunlight or heat is exposed to it.

9. Clean With a Cotton Swab

Always clean the battery compartment with a cotton swab to remove the humidity inside it. Humidity is a great factor that affects the lifespan of your battery.

Zinc should only react with air, not with other liquid material. Try to keep your hearing aid clean too.

10. Expiry Date

Before buying a battery for your hearing aid, always check for the expiry date. If you buy the one that has the expiry within a year of your purchase, then you are wasting your money and time on it.

You can also sell the batteries for some lower prices to the manufacturer or some retailers who are willing to buy.

11. Accessories

Modern-day hearing aids may come with some new features and technology. You can connect your phone or other Bluetooth and wifi devices with them.

But this will surely drain your battery at a great level. Just buy the simple one and you need not worry much about the battery life.

12. Invest in Rechargeable Batteries

Though rechargeable batteries would cost more than the non-rechargeable one, it is always a good investment. You are going to live your day to day life with these devices. Why not invest in a good one?

Save up some money on a regular basis and when you think you can go for the rechargeables, go for it. All the hustle of buying batteries over time will be gone, but they may have other aspects that might need some concern.

Conclusion

What should be taken into consideration is the fact that most of these use the zinc-air technology meaning that air has a vast role.

It is used to run the hearing device by reacting with zinc. So any other external factor will surely harm the battery life.

Also, the zinc loses its capability at a lower temperature, higher altitude, and humid place. So try to keep your place dry, clean, and store the battery at normal room temperature. After that, you can enjoy your battery life as expected.