Does it seem as if your hearing aid batteries die way too fast? There are several reasons why this may be occurring that may be surprising.
So how long should the charge on my hearing aid battery go? From 3 to 7 days is the typical period of time for charge to last.
That’s a really wide range. So wide, in fact, that it’s unpredictable and leaves you in a serious situation.
You might be on day 4 at the grocery store. All of a sudden, you can’t hear anything. The cashier is speaking to you but you don’t hear what they are saying.
Or, you’re out for lunch with friends on day 5. Suddenly, you find yourself feeling really alone because you can no longer hear the conversation.
Now, you’re at your grandson’s school play. And the children’s singing disappears. But it’s only day 2. Yes, they even sometimes die after a couple of days.
It’s more than annoying. You’re losing out on life because you don’t know how much power you have left in your hearing aids.
If your hearing aid batteries die too quickly, look to these seven possible causes.
Your Battery can be drained by moisture
Releasing moisture through our skin is one thing that human beings do that most other species don’t. You do it to cool down. You do it to get rid of extra sodium or toxins in the blood. In addition, you may live in a rainy humid environment where things get even wetter.
This extra moisture can clog the air vent in your device, making hearing aids less efficient. It can even interact with the chemicals that produce electricity causing it to drain even faster.
Here are several steps you can take to prevent moisture-caused battery drain:
- Don’t leave the batteries in if you’re storing them for several days
- Before you go to bed, open the battery door
- Don’t keep your hearing aids in the bathroom or kitchen
- A dehumidifier can be helpful
State-of-the-art hearing aid features can drain batteries
Even 10 years ago, hearing aids were much less helpful for individuals with hearing loss than modern devices. But these extra functions can cause batteries to drain faster if you’re not paying attention.
Don’t quit using your favorite features. But be aware that the battery will die faster if you spend all day streaming music from your phone to your hearing aids.
Noise-canceling, Bluetooth, multichannel, tinnitus relief — all of these added functions can drain your battery.
Batteries can be impacted by altitude changes
Your batteries can be quickly depleted when you have a rapid climb in altitude, and if they’re already low this is especially true. Make sure you bring some spares if you’re in the mountains or on an aircraft.
Is the battery actually drained?
Some hearing aids let you know when the battery is getting low. As a general rule, these alerts are giving you a “heads up”. They aren’t telling you the battery is dead. On top of this, sometimes an environmental change in altitude or humidity briefly causes the charge to dip and the low battery alarm gets triggered.
Take the hearing aids out and reset them to stop the alarm. There may be hours or even days of juice left.
Improper handling of batteries
You shouldn’t pull off the little tab from the battery before you’re ready to use it. Make sure you wash your hands before handling your hearing aids or batteries so you don’t get hand oil or dirt on them. Keep your batteries away from the freezer. This may increase the life of other batteries but that’s not the case with hearing aid batteries.
Hearing aids will drain more quickly if you mishandle them in these ways.
Buying a year’s supply of batteries isn’t a great idea
It’s often a wise financial decision to buy in bulk. But you can anticipate that the last few batteries in the pack will drain faster. It can be a waste to purchase any more than 6 months worth.
internet battery vendors
This isn’t a broad criticism of buying things online. You can get some great deals. But you will also come across some less honest sellers who will sell batteries that are near to or even past their expiration date.
Most types of batteries, including hearing aid batteries, have expiration dates. When you buy milk, you wouldn’t forget to look at the expiration date. You shouldn’t do that with batteries either. Make sure that the date is well in the future to get the most use out of the pack.
If the website doesn’t state an expiration date, message the seller, or purchase batteries at a pharmacy or hearing aid store where you can see it on the box. Only buy batteries from reliable sources.
The batteries in hearing aids no longer drain quickly
There are numerous reasons that hearing aid batteries may drain quickly. But you can get more power from each battery by taking small precautions. You might also think about rechargeable hearing aids if you’re shopping for a new set. You dock these hearing aids on a charger every night for an entire day of hearing tomorrow. Every few years, you will need to change the rechargeable batteries.