choosing the best hearing aids for your needs

Hearing aid batteries drain quickly because of the constant use they're put through, and if you're a hearing aid wearer, you know that the costs of replacing those batteries add up very quickly. Extending battery life means you get to worry less about your hearing aid suddenly conking out. Here are a few ways to extend the life of the battery, as well as a couple of myths you should ignore.   

Don't Do These

First the myths: Don't put the batteries in the refrigerator, and don't leave them in the hearing aid if you're not using the aid. If you leave the batteries in the hearing aid, the aid will continue to draw a little power from the batteries, making them drain more quickly. When you take out the hearing aid, remove the battery.

Also, keep that battery dry. Hearing aid batteries have a series of holes in their casings, covered by a sticker. You don't want moisture to get in there because it can cause the sticker to lose its stickiness. If the sticker falls off, oxygen will mix with the zinc-oxide in the battery and activate the battery (i.e., cause it to start producing a charge). A battery that sits for too long without the sticker on will not have as much power left when you finally get it out of the package for use in the hearing aid.

But Definitely Do These

However, uncovering those holes and activating the battery can help preserve battery life if left to sit for only a few minutes. In 2015, a teen audiology patient in Minnesota looked at battery life with the help of his audiologist. He found that removing the sticker and letting the battery sit for five minutes before being put in the hearing aid actually extended the life of the battery by anywhere from two to three days. That's an extra half week of battery use, which is no small thing.

As mentioned above, you should also remove the battery from the hearing aid when the aid isn't in use. That also goes for when you put the hearing aid in a dry aid kit to protect it from humidity -- just set the battery to the side of the aid inside the kit.

And Maybe Try This

If your batteries tend to have a longer life, around 10 days, save the sticker that you pulled off of the battery. It has a little tab that you can hold, and you can try "re-tabbing" the battery -- in other words, re-cover the holes with the sticker to keep air out. That will help protect the battery from both moisture and oxygen, especially if the humidity levels are very high. 

If you'd like more tactics for preserving battery life, contact an audiologist. Audiologists (such as those from Pacific Hearing Care) are committed to making hearing aid use affordable, and they'll be able to share more brand-specific information with you.