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Should I be skeptical about rechargeable hearing aid?

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Edited

It’s happened to me in the past that the perfect pair of hiking boots, or a great fitting shirt, or analog hearing aids, have gone out of production. Can’t get them anymore. What’s the use in holding a grudge? The manufacturer isn’t out to “deprive me of my rights to free choice”. Market forces, or style, or other considerations led the manufacturer to discontinue a product that I liked. Happens all the time. I’ve come to prefer my digital aids over analog. So do the vast majority of users. Manufacturers can’t be obliged to make products for an ever dwindling set of users at a loss to their bottom line.

I can’t oblige my old babysitter to come tend my new infant after she’s gone off to college, and claim that ‘she’s depriving me of my free choice’ when she goes.

It’s not about a perfect pair of hiking boots. Hiking boots don’t deprive you of one of your senses for however long it takes to charge.

Your analogy is inaccurate and quite frankly, off-putting and condescending. And clearly shows you have zero compassion or understanding.

So many assertions and logical fallacies. It’s stuff like this that made me swear off retail sales decades ago. Not long after I pulled the plug on employees as well. Kudos to Neville for even reading.

Edited

In reply to @codergeek2015

@codergeek2015 said:

And clearly shows you have zero compassion or understanding.

Clearly.

I was pointing out that things change. I have nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, I’ve learned to adapt and, darned if things in general don’t work out. The universe isn’t out to get me.

Actually, hearing aids are better than they’ve ever been. I’m grateful for the changes that have brought this about.

we all have more or less profound hearing loss. Some with profound loss depend on their aids. I get that. But…if one plans ahead,.as we all do with our phones, which are rechargeable, things will go well. I don’t hear from people bitching about how they might miss a life or death call while their phone is recharging, because it’s a one in a million possibility. One learns how to manage recharging their phone. Same thing with . Easy peasy.

Ever think it might be you?

Maybe the sales person was responding in kind to your aggressive, angry behavior.

No one can give you back your hearing. I’m sorry, but you should have accepted this by now. Most of us have.

Oh, I have accepted this long ago. I just don’t accept (nay, I hate) audiologists who are beholden to and push Phonak Phonak Phonak when I have clearly stated I fired them multiple times on this forum.

You don’t get to “fire” Phonak. After all, they’re still around despite your imaginary decree.

Again, ever think it might be you?: You had a bad experience with one audi and have projected it out onto the company as a whole. I’m not doubting that you had that bad experience. Many here have had bad experiences with audis who don’t listen to them or are bad fitters. Still, PHonak is a major HA brand for a good reason: Many, many people find their aids work for them.

You seem quick to assume that a number of HA providers are mere shills for Phonak, and want to ram that brand down your throat for their own miniscule monetary gain. I seriously doubt that.

Consider that these same audiologists you detest might be trying to help you. Consider, they’re not beholden to Phonak but see something in their aids that will help your particular loss. 90% of the time, at least, people are good and act in the interests of their patients. This is a good thing. Don’t be difficult! is my first rule when dealing with Audiologists. they have enough difficult patients to deal with without my adding to the burden.

@jeffrey - I appreciate what you’re trying to do. And that you’re trying to help.

But my energy is just exhausted from this entire situation these last few weeks and my fuse is short right now. It’s a good idea for me to recoup and start a new week fresh.

I am looking forward to my new aids on Friday and hopefully at last a solution to just about everything I’ve been having problems with since 2019, including an allergy to Phonak’s ear molds.

In reply to @jeffrey

Jeffery, please don’t continue this analogy about phones being the same as . I have heard this from several folks now and you know as well as I do that a phone can pick up calls while charging and you can use a battery bank if you need to carry it with you during this time. It’s also not an actual aid to any physical sense on our body.

There are many good arguments for why folks can make rechargeables work for them as I’ve seen in this thread but that is not one of them and I hope you and others will stop perpetuating it as it is just muddying the waters.

Rechargeable hearing aids might be convenient for some users. I would not want any rechargeable hearing aids, and I am not the only one one the Forum!
In my view, it is a nice marketing gimmick. I use my (Oticon miniRITE S 1) 14-16 hours per day, the batteries last 4-7 days, depending on how often I use Bluetooth streaming and/or how much time I spend on the phone (I have severe hearing loss and I need the HAs connected to the iPhone to be able to understand the caller).
As a routine, I check the charging level once in a while during the day, and if it is down to 20-30%, I replace them. If I want to make sure they don’t go dead at the wrong time, and I will not have a chance to replace them right away, I replace them. I keep a set of batteries in the car, and sometimes in my pocket. One other issue I have with rechargeable batteries: they don’t last for ever and replacing them might be quite expensive.

My KS10 are used daily for 2 years now. Last all day, mostly 18 hours. Connected to bluetooth the entire time. Used for about 4 hours of telephone talk every day.

No noticable change in charge time or battery charge length. Perform as new.

Would never need something to last days and would never care to deal with batteries or running out of them.

Possibly too much said in this thread already, but I’m not going to let that stop me adding to it by saying that like cvkemp, I’m a retired IT professional who now prefers rechargeable aids, for very similar reasons, particularly the risk of the disposables dying right in the middle of an important phone call or business meeting - or concert. Consequently, in such scenarios, in advance I used to put in fresh 312s, so that I often never got full value out of them.

In reply to @Heather_R

Heather: my point is merely that folks have become used to charging their phones and don’t think twice about it. In my experience, that’s even more true for my . And, again, a twenty minute charge will give several hours of life.

@jeffrey said:

my point is merely that folks have become used to charging their phones and don’t think twice about it.

Charging a phone or carrying a battery bank is a necessary inconvenience that we have to put up with. In contrast, it isn’t necessary to charge hearing aids, because they’ve run on tiny, inexpensive, long-lasting replaceable batteries for many years, and can continue to do so for those who want them, as long as the manufacturers keep making them.

In reply to @Neville

@Neville said:

There are 13 BTEs and RICs in the Marvel and Paradise line.

Are you still able to order Audéo Marvel or Audéo Paradise for your clients who want them? They aren’t on Phonak’s consumer website anymore, and the hearing aid list on the pro site points to the consumer hearing aid list.

@Neville said:

There’s no indication that the NEXT line of devices after lumity won’t also have traditional battery options

A double negative isn’t as convincing as a positive. I hope you’re right (because I see Phonak as a bellwether, not because I use Phonak), but the lack of a traditional Audéo Lumity is itself an indication, the way I see it.

In reply to @x475aws

@x475aws said:

Charging a phone or carrying a battery bank is a necessary inconvenience that we have to put up with.

Yes, but you can also buy a phone with a removable battery and carry a spare. 6 New Android Phones That Still Have Removable Batteries3 There have even been models powered by disposable AA batteries etc. Most people don’t bother with stuff like that because the phone they prefer comes with a glued-in battery and the users accept any compromise that arise. It’s probably impossible that any product could satisfy every user’s wishes. One chooses from the best available combination of features or compromises. Same with ’s.

Some believe they have a better idea of what products could be profitable, which leads to many Kickstarter projects. No idea of the success rate of those but at least they’re a constructive effort that demonstrates a confidence in their idea. The notions that buyers are entitled to a particular product, and can somehow via forum posts bully the manufacturer into making it, is a new one to me.

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