Oticon More: Rechargeable vs. disposable batteries

Maybe you can ask your HCP if there’s an option to trade in the rechargeable for the disposable version later when it comes out. If yes, there’s nothing to lose to try out the rechargeable version now and if you still don’t like it by the time the disposable version comes out, then you simply swap them.

I suspect that once you get used to the rechargeable version, you’ll find that you like it enough to keep it.

The main impediment I can see is if you travel a lot and forget to bring the charger with you. Or if your charger goes bad for some reason, then you’re dead in the water until you can get a replacement. For this reason, if you can have a back up charger ready in your travel bag and ready as a backup charger, then you should not have any more worry that a rechargeable system can fail you.

By the way, the Oticon lithium-ion battery is designed to be easily replaceable at the HCP’s office (or even by you) with a simple pointy tool to open the battery door and swap out batteries. So there’s no reason to worry about having to send them in for battery replacement a few years down the road and be without your HAs for days. This also makes for a less expensive replacement cost when it comes time for replacement. They’re supposed to last up to 5 years, I think.

@j45000 said:

I very much prefer the replaceable batteries I buy in the store.

@j45000: I’m intrigued by the fact that you can very much prefer something when you haven’t tried the alternative.

I think @Volusiano as well as @cvkemp have offered some practical advice about evaluating Oticon rechargeable HAs. Give them a try before you ditch them with your mind … it may be an eye-opening experience.

I never thought that I would prefer Oticon More rechargeable HAs (can’t speak to other makes) versus disposable batteries, but I do - big time.

I wear my More1s an average of 16-18 hours a day, with perhaps 3 hours of streaming included in that. I have yet to come close to exhausting my battery power (on the longest days, I still have ~20% charge remaining). And a brief partial charge of even 1/2 hour will get you 6 more hours of use.

There are exceptions to everything, but I’m pretty confident that most people would find that Oticon rechargeables will meet their needs.

[I have yet to plug my Oticon More recharger into the wall. It’s attached to an external power pack that lives in the drawer of my nightstand along with the charger. I decided on that getup to avoid having another exposed cord for my cats to chew on.

Use the Search function to discover a ton more posts …]

@SpudGunner No, I’ve graduated to spheres far beyond those childish hobbies .
Now that the NHL Playoffs are over, I have nothing better to do!
Why R U putting me down, I meant that as a compliment.

He is a jokester, it just takes time to understand him

But it’s fun to get him going, eh?

@SpudGunner said:

GO HABS, GO!

Please append to Gone Habs, Gone!
Very disappointing, but Price was a rock.
Problem was Vasy was a Mountain.

@bluejay2025: Some members are saying that the Polaris chipset requires more voltage than disposable batteries can deliver with any longevity.

As you’re aware, I’m definitely NOT a tech savvy guy. Perhaps someone who is can shed some light on this.

I’m certainly in agreement with the principle that - if it’s feasible - users should have a choice.

I said that to, but once I got rechargeable aids I soon came up with a plan just for the times you are talking about. Now I wouldn’t go back to disposable batteries. I have a few times I have gone over 24 hours on my rechargeable aids and still had enough battery life make it until I charged them. I have a backup charger in my go backpack. In that backpack is everything I need to change iPhone, iPad, MacBook, hearing aids, from wall socket or car, or battery backup. As a Boy Scout, Navy sailor the key word has always been be prepared for what ever is thrown at me.

I think Oticon More with disposable batteries will be released in 10 August. There are some tracks of this model in FCC site.

@Volusiano said:

a 30 minute top up would give you 25% charge, which would give you about 6 hours of use

Well I can “recharge” my disposable in like 30 secs and get about 6 days of use , no need to wait and have NO hearing for 15min or 30 mins! Much more convenient.

@Volusiano said:

You can also be without your disposable batteries or unable to swap disposable batteries as well,

Nevertheless it’s never happened to me, the zinc airs are like so small and easy to carry anyway, I mean just like having loose change in your pocket, after so many years of using them I have them everywhere!work, home in the car, never ever been without.

@Volusiano said:

disposable batteries go dead, like when you’re in a middle of a meeting or video conference call at work, or at a restaurant,

Na it never happens like that, you get little chimes to let you know when, like my ReSounds give me hours of notice before they actually run dead, my Pure X7 are a little less, but way plenty of time for a change over, actually after a bit of experience, I know on the very day I’ll need to “top up”

@Volusiano said:

I would bet that the chance of this happening is higher and more frequent than the chance of a rechargeable battery HA running out of juice before the end of the day.

Nope I bet you’ll be without your charger more often then I’m without my batteries, or you’ll forget to charge your “rechargeable” at bedtime, like every single night you gotta remember “I gotta charge my HAs” for some people this is gonna happen.

@Volusiano said:

One has to wonder why

Why? The manufacturers are pushing rechargeable, so it makes sense to release them first, as in don’t give the consumer a choice,and that will drive up the sales of rechargeable.

@Volusiano said:

it’s possible that the disposable version may need to forgo some functionalities to help reduce the high power drain to make it more suitable for disposable battery use

I don’t think so, that just doesn’t make a lot of sense, I mean zinc airs are available in size 13 and 675 for profound, there’s plenty of “power” there.

@Volusiano said:

I think if Oticon could have used the same Polaris chip for both the rechargeable and the disposable battery versions, they would have released both at the same time already

Well the delay may have nothing at all to do the battery drain, it could be just a delay in regulations or COVID-19 delay in supply on parts, chips or whatever.

@Volusiano said:

All that waiting for some imagined disadvantages of rechargeable systems that may not be real or even a big deal in the first place

Well you may think this, but it seems more your “imagined disadvantages” on disposable,but your right it may or may not a big deal after all.

@Volusiano said:

All that waiting for some imagined disadvantages of rechargeable systems that may not be real or even a big deal in the first place

@tenkan said:

Well you may think this, but it seems more your “imagined disadvantages” on disposable,but your right it may or may not a big deal after all.

Wow, what a detailed response. Obviously we’re starting to beat the rechargeable vs disposable horse to death here again. But since the discussion is still relevant to the topic of this thread, I’ll follow up with the following:

I won’t do a line by line rebuke a la Tenkan style, but I’ll just summarize my own experience here. I’ve used disposable for a long time and I’ve used a rechargeable system of hearing aids as well. Through my own experience, I prefer the rechargeable system. Looks like Chuck (cvkemp is the same). I wonder if you have used a rechargeable system yourself yet, @tenkan? If you did, then I’d respect your opinion. If you haven’t, I’d still respect your opinion as well, but maybe a little less.

Oh yeah, I know all about the warning chimes for low battery warning on the Oticon OPN. I had them set to turn on. But I’ve been in situation when I’m in a middle of a call or meeting or conference calls or at a restaurant or driving where I’d get the warning chime, but was unable to react to it, either because I don’t carry disposable batteries in my pocket with me (my personal preference, I know you don’t mind keeping yours in your pocket, I do), or because I’m not predisposed to changing them in that situation, even if I had them in my pocket. And the HAs would go dead after maybe 15 or 20 minutes later on my OPN. So I consider those warning chimes not really useful and at times annoying especially when I’m not predisposed to react to them before they went dead. Maybe your Resounds give you hours of notice before they go dead, but my OPN (and we’re talking about Oticon HAs in this thread here afterall), only gives me 15-20 minutes before they go dead.

And no, my disposables don’t last 6 days on my OPNs by the way. I get usually 3 days, 4 days at best if I hardly stream at all.

I NEVER forget to charge at bedtime. It’s a simple ritual, if I go to bed, I take them out, so I gotta put them into something, not on the table, but the charger. So I don’t/never forget, unless I fall asleep with them on, which I never do.

If you keep your disposable batteries in your pockets all the times, then of course I’m without my charger more often than you are without your batteries. But I don’t need to be with my charger all day long like you need to be with your batteries all day long everywhere, nor do I want to. I just need my charger to be at my bedside at night, and I need one spare one in my backpack, which I never have had to resort to using the spare yet, unless I travel.

Of course Zinc Airs are available in size 13 and 675 for profound, but size matters. Have you ever seen Oticon fit a size 13 or 675 on their miniRITEs? That will make their miniRITE become bigRITE.

I don’t have “imagined disadvantages” on disposables because I’ve lived with using them for years already, so I experienced those disposable disadvantages in real life. The “imagined disadvantages” I mentioned are for those who haven’t actually lived with rechargeables yet, but are still adamantly against them.

WHOA!The airwaves are on fire this morning!