Rechargeable Hearing Aids: Do They Really Work?

If you have hearing loss and require hearing aids, you may well be wondering about the effectiveness of rechargeable hearing aids. Rechargeable hearing aids are designed to put your mind at ease by meaning you can worry less about your aids losing their battery power. It is perfectly natural to worry about this technology, as it directly affects one of your major senses.

For someone with hearing loss, they are an essential part of daily life. You are perfectly entitled to be skeptical and wonder if rechargeable hearing aids really do work as well as the manufacturers say they do. This article is designed to help you decide if rechargeable hearing aids are right for you.

Battery Choice

There are two types of hearing aid batteries: disposable batteries or rechargeable ones. Although disposable batteries are still the most common form, most manufacturers now build hearing aids with rechargeable batteries. So, it is likely that disposable battery hearing aids will disappear at some point in the future. Indeed, if you bought your hearing aid in the last couple of years, you are more likely to have bought ones with rechargeable batteries. Of the rechargeable batteries at the moment, there are two main types:

• Silver-zinc batteries: This type is identifiable by the fact that there is a battery door on the device. Although they are rechargeable, you still need to replace the batteries once in a while
• Lithium-ion batteries: These are permanent rechargeable batteries and do not need replacing. There is no battery door on these devices. 

How to Take Care of Rechargeable Batteries

Hearing aids have better reliability, effectiveness and efficiency have been getting steadily better. However, like any type of technology, you do need to take good care of your hearing aids to ensure they work well into the future.

• Keep the safe on the charging station: if you want the battery life of your rechargeable batteries to increase, then you need to keep them on the charging station. It doesn’t matter if your battery is not completely drained when you set on the charging station. The battery life will not be damaged. In fact, quite the opposite is true; you will be able to enhance the life of your batteries. A good rule of thumb is to keep the charging station next to your bed and charge them overnight. It is important to remember that a lithium-ion battery usually requires around three to four hours or charge every day to power you for 24 hours.
• Cleaning and drying your hearing aids are proline to collecting dust, debris and moisture, which man you must be vigilant in keeping them clean and dry. If these things have clogged the aids, they may not charge properly. 
• You need to be careful when dealing with any hearing aid wires, whether on the charging station or on the device itself. Pulling or tugging writes can cause damage and may result in your hearing aids not working effectively or not charging.
• If you do not require hearing aids for long periods, then leaving them on the charger is not advisable. Instead, unplug them and store them in a cool, dry place. If you have silver-zinc batteries, then consider opening the battery door to ensure any moisture evaporates.

Changing a Zinc Battery

You will only preserve your new battery if you replace it in the correct way. Here are some tips:

• Keep the plastic tabs and seal in place until you are ready to use the new batteries
• Before removing the tabs, allow the batteries to acclimatize to the temperature of your room for at least five minutes.
• Make sure your hands are clean and dry.
• Ensure that the battery space is also clean and dry before inserting the new batteries.
• Anything you are unsure of, be sure to discuss with your audiologist.

Advantages of Rechargeable Batteries

There are plenty of advantages of rechargeable batteries:

• It is great for people with dexterity issues as they do not need to fiddle about with battery doors.
• They are safer for children as small disposable batteries tend to get swallowed. 
• The zinc batteries may need to be replaced, but they have a very long shelf life meaning they usually only need to be replaced once every year.

Contact Us

To find out more about rechargeable hearing aids, please contact our friendly team at Advanced Hearing Services at (970) 449-0592.