Digital hearing aids may be small, but they demand a great deal of power to operate properly. This power comes from small but mighty disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries. No matter what type of batteries your hearing aid uses, you never want to be stranded with a dead battery.
What Type of Hearing Aid Battery is Better?
During your hearing aid dispensing appointment, the hearing instrument specialist will help you determine the type of hearing aid and hearing aid battery that will work best for you. If you have vision or dexterity challenges that make manipulating small objects difficult or frustrating, changing disposable batteries may pose a problem. In this instance, hearing aids with rechargeable batteries that merely require docking at night may be the best option.
When you return to your local Hear More Medical Centers of America office for your fitting, the hearing instrument specialist will review basic hearing aid maintenance tasks with you. This includes teaching you how to change disposable batteries or charge rechargeable batteries.
How Hearing Aid Batteries Work
Disposable hearing aid batteries use zinc ion technology. When the zinc in the batteries comes into contact with oxygen from the air, it starts a chemical reaction that creates a charge powerful enough to operate your digital hearing aids. Because zinc-ion technology needs exposure to air to start the reaction, these hearing aid batteries come in a sealed package.
In addition, a small removable piece of adhesive tape covers the zinc area of the battery to keep it airtight. Before you install the battery, remove the tape and leave the battery exposed to air for at least two minutes before inserting in your hearing aid.
Rechargeable batteries use lithium-ion technology to create an electrical charge. These batteries are like the ones found in your smartphone and they recharge in a similar fashion. You can simply place the hearing aids in the charging station at night and remove them in the morning. Current Federal Aviation Administration rules require that lithium-ion batteries only be packed in carry on luggage. If you are traveling with a spare rechargeable battery for your hearing aid, you need to pack it in a carry-on bag.
Shopping for Hearing Aid Batteries
All hearing aid brands use the same standard battery sizes. Each battery is identified by a color and a number. Hear More Medical Centers of America carries all hearing aid battery sizes.
- Size 5 batteries: Red label
- Size 10 batteries: Yellow label
- Size 312 batteries: Brown label
- Size 13 batteries: Orange label
- Size 675 batteries: Blue label