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KS10 Battery life deteriorating

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In reply to @Um_bongo

Aha - I will have to make sure my Bluetooth is off when not using it then. Iphones have a habit of switching Bluetooth on every morning. I know you can disable Bluetooth and then that doesn’t happen but that would add an extra stage to connecting every time so I don’t do it

Edited

In reply to @miket

Isn’t the question then what level of deterioration of battery life would trigger an accepted warranty claim? They aren’t going to be too pleased if they have to replace a million hearing aids.

See this quote from Hearing Tracker “Marvel was an instant best-seller for Phonak, with [over a million] hearing aids sold in less than a year. But there’s always room for improvement. The successor to Marvel— Audéo Paradise —offers improvements in sound processing, speech enhancement, and Bluetooth connectivity, among other things.”

I’ve had KS 10’s about 2.5 months now and get I about 15 good hours out of a charge. I do a lot of streaming (audio books and TV connector) and is on all day. 15 hours is not quite enough if I put them in right when I wake up at 6 am, because they start to die when listening to TV through the connector later at night. Solution: these days I wait a few hours after getting up before I put them in, I don’t really need them from 6 am to 8 am. But I’d prefer a full waking day. Let’s see if they get worse over time like they did for this gentleman. If so, at 179 day (6 mo) point I may return them and get new ones. Not sure, is that unethical?

Some degree of deterioration of battery life is to be expected. The questions for us are how much is acceptable and at what rate of change. Further to that, what does the manufacturer or retailer promise and what rights can we exercise? I don’t think it’s unethical to expect a decent standard of usefulness. What I’m afraid of is that they have put in a substandard battery which is not fit for its purpose or that rechargeable batteries are not yet powerful enough for hearing aids. I’m getting ‘range anxiety’ when I go out in the evening and that is uncool. It would be interesting to hear from users of other makes and models.

I was told at costco that the ks10 would last only 16hr on a charge so about 15 with heavy streaming makes sense. It’s not that it’s a bad battery is that the ks10 uses regular Bluetooth which has several advantages in functionality but is a huge power draw. Most of the rest use LE which is very low power draw - my jabra is rated at about 30+ hr, but less functionality.

Sorry for the bump and incoming long post but I’m having similar issues with my KS10 hearing aids and curious if anyone has fixed this, has advice, or knows Costco’s replacement policy.

I got them in January 2022 and now feel like the battery life is much shorter after only 1.5 years. I typically wear my aids for about 11-13 hours a day and stream for several hours a day. I have typically turned Bluetooth on 24/7 on my phone and computer, to which the are usually connected. Whereas just 6 months ago I had no notable issues, they now deplete very quickly, particularly the right hearing aid, and I’m getting ‘range anxiety’.

Just today I wore them for about 9:15 hours, of which about 5 hours were streaming. The left hearing aid was at 27%, which felt low but OK, but the right hearing aid was at a much lower 10%. I have been keeping tabs and after wearing these for 5:45 hours (3:45 hrs streaming), it was different but not so radically: 63/57.

I have been visiting a tropical (thus, hot and humid) climate for the past few months, which may be a factor, but I notice this drain even on days when I don’t leave the house. Only turning off Bluetooth seems to help: one day I tested turning off Bluetooth and not streaming and they were at 66/60 with 8:15 hours of wear (1 hr noisy environment).

I must say I am disappointed, especially since the marketing material touts a 16 hour battery life, of which 8 hours is Automatic, 4 hours streaming, 4 hours phone calls: https://irp.cdn-website.com/7ce7b27d/files/uploaded/PH_Leaflet_apples_to_apples_KS_10.0_216x279_EN_V1.00.pdf6

Does anyone know if Costco still replaces HA batteries in their KS10s? Not sure if the Phonak debacle has caused any supply chain issues. I should be covered under warranty, thankfully, but would definitely want loaners due to the extent of my loss (do have my older HAs if really necessary). I’d be particularly interested in hearing from folks that have had KS10s or other rechargeables for a few years and what their battery deterioration situation is like.

Edited

My KS10’s were two years old in April. They are the speakers for my Windows 11 computer and Samsung cell phone. I am at the computer many hours of the day and stream a Kanopy movie for about 25 minutes most nights while walking a mile on a treadmill. So, they are in my ears about 16 hours a day.
Last time I looked, they had 30% charge when I put them in the charger at night with NO movie streaming.
They are the best hearing aids I have ever had. If they ever have to be replaced, it will be with a Phonak equivalent.

I have the Phonak equivalent. Audeo Paradise P90R’s…I’m not happy. Difference is the setup…I keep trying and have made some gains. Yet I’m still left with the feeling…“Is this all there is?”

DaveL
audiologist is the key!

Edited

I suppose some of the problems users have could be caused by the peripheral Bluetooth devices paired with the hearing aids.
Tonight after 16+ hours paired to computer and phone. About 22 minutes streaming:

Screenshot_20230704-221620_Easy Line Remote

I realised that streaming audio from work Teams calls over Bluetooth eats battery faster than plugging in my Roger device. I mainly use an iPad for work Teams calls as it has a much better camera. I can get to the realistic end of the day (11pm for me) with juice in the tank with a mix of Roger and Bluetooth streaming.

My KS10s are paired to two iPads, an iPhone and an Apple Watch.

I have had my KS10’s for 2 1/2 years and the batteries started to die after about 10 to 11 hours if I did any audio book streaming. Just got them back from Costco with new (I assume) batteries. Things seem be back to like new. We will see how long this keeps working.

I believe they are new or rebuilt because they charge better (connect better in the charger) before they would not always charge over night and show green flashing when dead, this has stopped.

Edited

Keep in mind I’m new at this. My KS10s are my first , about 1-1/2 years old now. I’ve never had a problem with them not lasting through a day, though it’s been close a few times when I streamed more than usual. The Big Test in my case is election day when I’m a poll worker. That’s a 15 hour day straight through, and so far they’ve been fine.

One thing that no one seems to mention is that it matters A LOT how hard your HAs have to work. Certainly doing more streaming or calling is going to be a heavier load. And how much noise is in your environment, because amplifying it consumes energy. And also, look at the of those having issues here and compare them to mine. More severe loss means the HAs have to work harder. I think this is an important metric to consider when selecting HAs, and I’ve seen no references to audis or techs mentioning that. You can’t just say these things are good for 16 hours. Your mileage WILL vary - and decrease with the age of the HAs.

We have another election coming up so I’ll get another check on how mine are holding up. I bring my charger with me, but haven’t had to use it yet. If it’s a problem I can pop them in when things are slow - a 15 minute charge would likely be enough to carry me through the end of the day. But that is only an option for me thanks to my moderate loss, not so much for others.

Do I recall correctly that some rechargeable HAs can last a claimed 30 hours? Which ones, and how does that translate to real-world use?

BTW, anyone experimenting with turning off should probably consider putting the HAs in airplane mode to see if that decreases consumption even more. (I’d normally check my manual so I could mention how to select airplane mode, but I’ll have to find the manual first…)

I have Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s. very very similar to yours.

If I use a program that I’ve saved my battery life is much shorter.

If i may, I suggest you clean the contacts on your hearing aids and charging case. I use a pencil with an eraser attached. I rub the contacts with the eraser. Then I clean that dust with a microfiber cloth.

I learned to do that cleaning batteries on my pro cameras Later when I had a photo business and shot weddings I always carried 2 replacement batteries for each camera. Film days.

In reply to @ctromley

My Audeo Paradise P90Rs also easily make it through the day, but I cheat by taking them out (with recharging) mid-day when doing my daily workout. Also, using the power-efficient TV streamer rather than regular Bluetooth helps. Still, I wonder (and reading about all the “range anxiety” here)- why can’t manufacturers simply increase (let’s say, triple or so) the capacity of their rechargeable batteries? I don’t mind if become larger (a couple of decades ago they were in fact huge), they are quite stable where they are and most of us are past caring about cosmetics.

Well I finally got fed up with recharging my KS-10’s during off moments in the day and took them back to Costco. They uncomplainingly sent them back to Phonak (UK) and I got what appear to be brand new aids back within a week. One satisfied customer. No need to put up with a deteriorated set of batteries - and don’t feel bad for Phonak - a hearing aid that can’t last a full day is not fit for purpose.

My husband’s K10’s are also not holding a charge like they used to. His warranty is up in August so I encouraged him to seek guidance. Costco was great–they actually found a loaner pair of aids for him as he is quite deaf without them, and sent his aids in for repair. I don’t know if they will be swapped out for new aids or if the batteries will simply be replaced, but they were very accommodating.

Edited

Just back from Costco Edinburgh. Asked the audiologist if KS10’s can be sent for service. She checked serial numbers, 13 days warranty still left. No problem. So hoping they will come back as good as new. Happy days.

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