According to Phonak the rechargeable hearing aid’s battery life last 24 hours from a single charge*. This makes the user experience extremely easy, allowing you to charge your aid over night.
If your aid is powered by removal batteries there are more variables that apply. You need to remove the batteries at night, allowing the batteries to not be drained when you aren’t using them. Additionally the moisture around the batteries has time to evaporate (we will talk more about moisture and humidity below). The following variables effect battery life for battery powered hearing aids
*The size of your battery- a general rule of thumb is the larger the battery the longer life
*Keep batteries stored in a room temperature environment
*Leave battery compartment open overnight to allow moisture to dry
*Wash hands before touching battery to reduce other contaminants effecting battery or hearing aid
*Do not leave dead batteries in for a long period of time. They can swell, causing damage to your hearing aid
*Store backup batteries in your bag. Storing them in a separate bag or protective case to limit the batteries contact with other metals which will damage the battery and it’s overall performance
How Far Above Sea Level You Are
If you have flown with your hearing aids before, you would have noticed a slight decrease in battery life. This is because higher altitudes have less oxygen in the atmosphere. Batteries rely very heavily on oxygen to activate the materials within the battery to provide optimal power.
How Often You Use Your Aid
Similar to any technology the more you use your aid and the more features or volume you use will decrease the battery life. If you use your phone all day, while using the torch setting, brighter screen or higher volume it drains the battery faster the exact same thing applies to your aid.
The Severity Of Hearing Loss
The more severe your hearing loss, the stronger your hearing aids need to work, to amplify the sound. If the hearing aids are working harder so you don’t have to their batteries’ life will be more strongly impacted
The Included Technology
If you hearing aid includes added technology, such as tinnitus masking properties a more advanced and sensory technology is included. This will lead to a rescued battery life as the battery has to work harder to adapt to the environment and masking the ringing in your ears. A lot of the newer hearing aids include tinnitus masking properties as it is a common side effect of hearing loss. Due to tinnitus masking becoming an included feature in most hearing aids, you will not notice a huge difference in battery life.
How You Manage The Aid
With both rechargeable and battery powered aids, the way you treat and handle them will impact the overall battery and hearing aid health.
Weather Conditions
Humidity and temperature are the biggest environmental conditions that will impact your battery health and lifespan. Additionally for battery powered aid’s function and health are strongly impacted by moisture and humidity. With high humidity more moisture builds up creating a higher risk to battery swelling, battery leakage and overall damage to the aid. This can be taken care of by airing out the aid and ensuring the dry out. Low humidity does the opposite and dry’s out the aid and battery causing shrinkage, also damaging the performance of the battery. You can use de-humidifiers or temperature regulators if you are located in more extreme temperature. If you aren’t, airing out your batteries and the compartment of where the batteries sit, will do the trick.
For further information on caring for your hearing aids and the battery life of your aids you can contact us today!
