Should I be skeptical about rechargeable hearing aid?

I have had Philips miniRITE 9030 for a year and a half. Today, after 6 hours, they still have 78% charge. That extrapolates to 27 hours. If that is not enough, I have a portable charger wthl battery self power that can give charge for three hours operation in 15 minutes. Still want batteries?

Do you not have to remove your HAs to charge them? When I “recharge” my HAs in about 30sec, I get 5 to 6 days worth, I never have to worry about charging every single night, plus no need to carry around a “recharge” brick, just seems easier.

But how often do you have to change batteries in the middle of a conversation, I personally had to way too many times and personally it was embarrassing.

I know this a genuine concern for some, but honestly in 25 years of using, it’s never happened to me, my later models give anywhere from 15min, but I found a simple open and close of the battery door would give me extra time anyway.

I would spend hours either on the phone with customers or face to face meetings and it was embarrassing to have the batteries go dead. I have never been able to hear the beeps to alert me that my batteries were dying, my audiologists told me it was because the beeps were on my dead spot of my hearing.

@jeffrey said:

“carry around a brick”

Jeff It’s slang, it’s informal name for portable power (brick), of course it doesn’t actually mean the size and weight of an actual “brick”

Yes, but it carries a kind of dismissive connotation, especially for new users. I’ve only seen the phrase “carry around a brick” used by people who don’t like rechargeable aids.

Imagine if I were to refer to carrying around a pack of batteries as “carrying around a brick”. I’d hear back from folks!

all that said, I looked up ‘brick’s’ use as slang and found it tended to bounce between two extremes, in terms of meaning: here are two, following one after the other:

7 That’s not a mobile phone, it’s a brick.
8 You can always rely on Charlie, he’s a real brick.

I don’t think most folks here are referencing how reliable rechargers are when carried around as emergency back up for hearing aids. I think they’re gesturing towards, 'sheesh, who’d want to have to carry around am unreliable brick when instead they can carry a pack of batteries?. But in fact the two are essentially equivalent.

@jeffrey said:

But in fact [a charger and a pack of batteries] are essentially equivalent.

You’ve said this before and I’ve answered it before. A pack of batteries can fit into most pockets without bulging out, and you can forget it’s there. And it leaves room for other stuff. A charger is going to bulge out, to the detriment of comfort and appearance, unless you wear cargo pants or a fishing vest.

@x475aws said:

You’ve said this before and I’ve answered it before. A pack of batteries can fit into most pockets without bulging out, and you can forget it’s there. And it leaves room for other stuff. A charger is going to bulge out, to the detriment of comfort and appearance, unless you wear cargo pants or a fishing vest.

or a garment with side pockets.

now we’re quibbling over minutiae. Who cares? We’re wearing hearing aids. No one notices if I wear a jacket with side pockets, take it off indoors, and inside one of those pockets there’s a rechargeable three ounce :“brick”. so called, that’s the same size and weight as a packet of batteries.

Good lord.

Truth be told, with my life, I never bring along a brick. I know my aids will have plenty of power to get me through the evening.

@Baltazard Exactly. It’s the long-term that matters. Non-replaceable batteries put an artificial life span on your HA’s. I know you can get the batteries replaced just before the end of the warranty and get a few more years life out of them, but in the end the batteries will fail before any of the other components. It may then be time for new HA’s anyway so it doesn’t matter to those with insurance cover etc. But for some of us, we depend on buying 6 year old HA’s and self-programming them and getting a few years life out of them before repeating the process.

Geeze, guys, you can replace the rechargeable batteries in rechargeable aids, period. Yes, after warranty, it costs about the same amount as you/d spend on disposable batteries over a comparable time period. Rechargeable aids aren’t part of a conspiracy. Do you guys use a rechargeable phone? Same darn thing. Put a new battery in the device and you’[re good to to for another three years. All this talk of ‘scam’ is nonsense. work with it, or around it, and you’ll find happiness. Even if “they” are trying to cheat you, with a bit of understanding, you can make it all work to your own benefit.

@jeffrey said:

rechargeable three ounce :“brick”. so called, that’s the same size and weight as a packet of batteries.

I’m talking about a card with a wheel holding 6 or 8 batteries. That is not the same size and weight as a charger.

Not wanting your clothes to bulge has nothing to do with hiding hearing aids. A jacket isn’t the answer if you don’t wear one.

@jeffrey said:

I never bring along a brick. I know my aids will have plenty of power to get me through the evening.

With traditional batteries I don’t have to make that decision, because they’re so easy to carry.

@jeffrey said:

Geeze, guys, you can replace the rechargeable batteries in rechargeable aids, period

Until they age out of manufacturer support. Five years seems to be a typical figure.

Well I am just going to mute this post and enjoy my rechargeable hearing aids.