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Does muting use less power?

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I know my aids still use power when muted. But do they use the same amount of power? They’re not using power to drive the speakers, and for all I know, they’re not even processing sound coming in the microphones.

If I was to regularly mute them, say while on the train to and from work, would the batteries last much longer?

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Yes, muting will lead to some power savings (driving the speakers takes power, more so with higher amplification).

[Note: The link has nothing to do with Rayovac, really. It describes where/how power is used in hearing aids, generally]

I use mute all the time instead of putting wear and tear on the battery drawers. I only open the battery drawers to fully turn them off at the end of each day.

@Zebras said:

I use mute all the time instead of putting wear and tear on the battery drawers. I only open the battery drawers to fully turn them off at the end of each day.

Have you worked out how much longer they last for each hour they’re muted?

I’m also interested to know if reducing the volume has an effect.

I mostly need my aids for speech, and there are long periods each day where there’s no one talking to me. Im trialling my first pair, and at the moment I’m getting 8 days. I’ll probably end up just changing them once a week, but it might be handy to know how to stretch it if I need to.

I noticed that the first set only lasted 2 days. The audiologist said it was probably because of the power used during programming, which only took a few minutes. Does that sound right?

Pters, it is possible that making changes is power intensive. How long have subsequent batteries lasted? That’s the best indicator.

The batteries used provide power as a chemical reaction. Once exposed to oxygen, they will continue some reaction whether there’s a current draw on not. That includes nighttime hours where the aids are turned off. It just isn’t as great as when powering the aids.

Try it both ways and share your result. We’ll all find it a bit helpful.

@KenP said:

Pters, it is possible that making changes is power intensive. How long have subsequent batteries lasted? That’s the best indicator.

The last two sets of batteries lasted about 8 days.

I think muting uses less power, but I don’t think the hassle of muting all the times is worth the trouble of saving a little bit of battery juice.

If I take a nap during the day, I take the hearing aids out and open the battery door. I don’t worry about wearing out the battery door. They’re cheap and easily replaceable.

If I mute, usually it’s to block out sounds to rest my brain or to hear streaming better, not to save battery juice. Even if I don’t need to hear anything, I still like the natural hearing of background noise around me for a more natural listening experience. To me, saving a little bit of battery juice by muting at the expense of reminding me that I’m wearing is not worth it. Plus, somebody may be calling out for me in another room or a strange noise may come up for some reason and I want to hear those things if they happen. Sometimes it’s a safety thing to always be able to hear things unless you go to sleep.

In reply to @Volusiano

@Volusiano said:

I take the hearing aids out and open the battery door. I don’t worry about wearing out the battery door. They’re cheap and easily replaceable.

I’ve got Roger integrated receivers so would prefer to mute as mine are more expensive to replace.

In reply to @pters

Yes - more programming is more drain on the battery. I always find battery life reduced by programming and my audiologist explained that it is more power consuming especially with the remote device to connect to the aids.

In reply to @Volusiano

I have one of my programs set up as a “mute” program. Makes it quick and simple to have a bit of peace and quiet. One of my sets of hearing aids uses 312 batteries. Those get changed every Monday, but could easily go a couple extra days. The other set uses 13 batteries. I change those every payday (two weeks). Those can easily run another day or two, but when I change them on a set routine, I never have to worry with calculating how much time I have left, or miscalculating and having to stop in the middle of a conversation to fumble with batteries.

Occasionally a battery is just a dud and won’t make the designated stretch, so I always carry a spare set on my keychain, but when those get put into play, they are replaced according to my routine, regardless of how many days they’ve been in use.

Batteries are cheap. Worrying about them takes too much effort! :wink:

@pters said:

They’re not using power to drive the speakers, and for all I know, they’re not even processing sound coming in the microphones.

As Volusiano taught me in my how to use Live Listen question thread, muting unpowers the microphone but not the speakers, at least that’s the case when OPNs are paired with an iPhone.

@pters said:

They’re not using power to drive the speakers, and for all I know, they’re not even processing sound coming in the microphones.

@Overoaked said:

As Volusiano taught me in my how to use Live Listen question thread, muting unpowers the microphone but not the speakers, at least that’s the case when OPNs are paired with an iPhone.

It’s correct that when you are streaming with the iPhone, muting the mics still drains the batteries because the processors and receivers are still exercised for direct streaming.

But if your is not direct streaming from your phone or TV streamer then the processor maybe put in standby and the amplifiers are not driving the receivers.

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