The Trick to Making Hearing Aid Batteries Last Longer

Hearing aids can be life changing. The moment an audiologist supplies a custom fit, all those sounds you thought were out of reach should come flooding back. At last, you’ll be able to turn your television to a reasonable level and talk on the phone at work without worry. With hearing aids, you can kiss goodbye hearing-based stress at last. Of course, most users find that hearing aids do bring trials of their own, such as batteries which only have an average three to seven-day lifespan depending on factors like:

• Device size
• Battery type
• Environment
• Length of use
• Care and storage

While most would agree that fast-draining batteries can be a small price to pay for improved hearing, this can be inconvenient. The last thing you want, after all, is for your hearing aid to start beeping in the middle of the working day. It’s for this reason that most hearing aid wearers should forever carry a pack of spare batteries with them. If you’re changing your hearing aid battery every three days, though, you may be making some fatal mistakes. These are worth changing considering that such high battery consumption can be hard. But, how exactly can you make your hearing aid batteries last longer?

Take care of storage

As mentioned, keeping a pack of batteries in your bag is vital for emergencies, but these aren’t ideal storage conditions for battery health. Instead, you need to make sure that you’re thinking about where you keep your main battery supply. Extreme temperatures or humidity levels can have a significant impact on battery lifespan and could even ruin supplies before you’re able to use them. As such, you need to find cool and dry places to store your spare battery packets. You might even find it worthwhile to invest in a dry storage kit or hearing aid dehumidifier to make sure battery life is as good as possible.

Leave those paper tabs in place

Have you ever removed those little paper tabs off a hearing aid battery and then changed your mind? Have you put said battery back in the packet and forgotten about it? If yes, then it’s no wonder your batteries never last long. The fact is that hearing aid batteries are zinc-air designs. This means there are air holes underneath that paper tab which, allow air to enter and stimulate the zinc within your battery. That can lead to significantly shortened lifespans, and even dead batteries straight out the packet.

Always wash your hands

Washing your hands is good for more than just preventing the spread of a cause. In the case of your hearing aids, this alone can also lengthen lifespan. That’s because the grease and dirt on your fingers can harm both your batteries and your hearing aids themselves. Before you pull off paper tabs or even touch those battery packs, be sure to wash thoroughly.

Rotate your batteries

Too often, we make the mistake of grabbing the first new packet of batteries we can find, or even if the latest packet is best. The trouble is that battery lifespan also reduces with age. While this shouldn’t be an issue with such a fast turnover, continually reaching for new packets could leave some batteries at the bottom of your drawer for extended periods. Don’t let that happen. Instead, make sure to always rotate your battery packets and go for your oldest first to guarantee that you’re always enjoying the best lifespans.

Don’t waste energy

As with any energy source, your batteries will lose most of their energy through use. As such, you need to make sure that you aren’t wasting power when you don’t need to. Get into the habit of removing your batteries if you know you won’t be using them for a long time. Even taking time to turn off your hearing aid and open the battery compartment during small breaks can make a huge difference here by blocking corrosion. That could help every battery live for a whole lot longer. These are all surprisingly simple tips and tricks, yet every single one of them can go a long way towards reducing the number of battery changes in your week. If you want more information about extending battery life or just caring for your hearing aids in general, then an audiologist is your best bet. Contact the team at Arkansas Professional Hearing Care at (501) 588-0177 to learn more today.