Should I be skeptical about rechargeable hearing aid?

@Volusiano said:

And along with that is the fact that you would have to carry spare batteries on you everywhere you go if you don’t change them out before they go empty.

@x475aws said:

If you don’t like carrying spare batteries, what do you think of carrying a charger? The Phonak Lumity manual tells how to reboot the aids to clear an error condition, and one step is putting them into the charger. I don’t see the same in other rechargeable aids’ manuals I looked at, but on these forums I’ve seen mention of putting aids into a charger to get them working again.

No HA mfg would be dumb enough to require using their charger AS THE ONLY MEAN to complete an ON/OFF cycle of their rechargeable HA. Of course it’s ONE option to do it, but there is always a manual option as well if you read the instruction manual carefully enough.

If it’s true like you said that you CAN ONLY use the charger to cycle ON/OFF the aids and there’s no other way (and I really doubt that it’s true for any of the rechargeable aids), nobody would want to buy that brand’s aids in the first place. I know I wouldn’t. That would be considered a design error, not just a lack of feature.

Speaking of the Lumity manual that you mentioned, I looked it up and found the following → The first screenshot below for the Lumity on page 21 of its manual tells you how to turn on/off the aids manually without needing the charger. Maybe putting the aids into the charger and removing it is an option to cycle power the aids, but I’m sure it’s not the ONLY way.

The second screenshot below is the instruction on how to turn ON/OFF the Oticon rechargeable hearing aids manually without the charger. And of course it’s also designed to turn off when put into the charger and turn ON when removed from the charger.

In subzero temperatures, my old Phonak Marvel 90 RIC rechargeable’s, cut out on 2 different days, both times, I was out in the sticks, in challenging circumstances, they would not reboot until placed back in the charger, on both occasions, leaving me in a very uncomfortable & vulnerable situation, once was fine, but twice, I was being put at risk, I demanded Phonak take them back (Which Phonak complied with) and swap them for a replaceable battery version, even though I was past my trial period, this is a known issue to Phonak, the hearing aid BMS ( Battery Management System) will kick in, in subzero -0’C, and can’t be reactivated until placed back in the charger dock… Cheers Kev

Yes, you should be skeptical. I replace the batteries in my Phonak Paradise 90 aids once a week and I have never had one go out on me before the week was up. I do a moderate amount of streaming. I do carry a spare pack of 312 batteries in my car but that’s it. I have worn hearing aids for 24 years. The argument against replacing the batteries before they actually go out as being wasteful is ridiculous. Batteries if bought in bought in bulk are very cheap, not even an issue. The only way I would ever go with rechargeable aids (after reading about all the various problems with them) is if it was not possible to get certain desirable features otherwise. Unfortunately that time may be coming though.

@wilt2448 said:

The argument against replacing the batteries before they actually go out as being wasteful is ridiculous.

Sorry, I was the one that said I felt it was wasteful. I didn’t mean it from a financial point of view - in fact they were free for me from my audi for the first 5 years I had those HAs. I just didn’t like the electronic waste - but that’s just me. I get that after 5 years or so the entire HA is electronic waste anyway, I just didn’t like the visible reminder when I had piles of batteries in various points around my house waiting to be recycled.

Anyway, I respect that everyone has different experiences and people have reasons for their preferences. I just see a lot of posts from people that have never tried rechargeable HAs touting all the problems, but there seem to be quite a few people like me that were skeptical but tried anyway and were glad they did. The problems that people expect have not materialized for me.

According to your audiogram, you have hearing in both ears that can get you by while your aids are recharging. I don’t. I take off my hearing aids, it’s total silence and deafness. Don’t start pushing the green agenda on me until you have hearing loss approaching mine.

While I support the green agenda in a vast majority of situations, my life would be negatively impacted by rechargeables. I simply cannot go 3 hours without hearing to wait to put my hearing aids back on.

I respect your point of view also but just have to say in response to your saying that “the problems people expect have not materialized for me” is that rechargeable hearing aids usually work well for a while but as the batteries age that’s when the problems show up. The whole rechargeable hearing aid factor is still very new.

I also think that considering the green agenda when it comes to hearing aid batteries is so small of a factor as to be not worth mentioning.

Exactly, @wilt2448. Rechargeables have a long way to go before they have a valid application for my loss.

@wilt2448 said:

The argument against replacing the batteries before they actually go out as being wasteful is ridiculous. Batteries if bought in bought in bulk are very cheap, not even an issue.

It’s not ridiculous to me. Being wasteful is not just about money consideration to me. I was raised to not waste anything (especially foods) if I can help it, so it irks me to throw away something that isn’t fully spent yet.

Having said that, I fully respect that folks want to replace the batteries before they go out so they wouldn’t be caught with having to replace them at an inconvenient time, while they’re in the middle of something. Especially if you’re in a work environment where interruptions are not worth saving a few cents. No judgement from me there whatsoever. Everyone is entitled to use their battery how they see fit.

So the wastefulness angle is only a subjective personal bias here, not a practical argument. But nevertheless, it’s still a con to some people (like me).

@brec said:

this instance of “error state” is the only one in the User Guide, so I don’t know how likely it is:

The Troubleshooting table refers to chapter 15 twice. It’s likely enough that they included it in the manual.

@wilt2448 said:

I also think that considering the green agenda when it comes to hearing aid batteries is so small of a factor as to be not worth mentioning.

An extra few ounces of waste per year is a drop in the bucket for most of us. And hearing aids are prosthetic devices, not optional indulgences.

In a discussion here several months ago, someone pointed out that the hearing aid companies, which are mostly European, are judged by some EU or other organizational standard that considers how much waste their products generate, and this gives them an incentive to prefer selling rechargeables. Presumably zinc-air batteries could be recycled for their metal, but that doesn’t seem to be the path taken.

I have been wearing rechargeable aids now since 2018 no issues with my batteries at all.

@Volusiano said:

It’s not ridiculous to me. Being wasteful is not just about money consideration to me. I was raised to not waste anything (especially foods) if I can help it, so it irks me to throw away something that isn’t fully spent yet.

If I was replacing the batteries every other day that would be wasteful. Experience has taught me that they begin to chirp after about 8 or 9 days for me. It’s for that same reason I replace the tires on my car while they still have some tread left and don’t wait until the rims are touching he ground.

@cvkemp said:

I have been wearing rechargeable aids now since 2018 no issues with my batteries at all.

Yes but how many different pair of hearing aids during that time? If you only keep them a couple of years you may be okay.

Actually i still have all 3 sets and I still use the oldest set at least a week every 2 months to keep them reliably usable. Tbe middle set is my backup aids and they are set so close fitting wise to my new aids that i sm using they at this time to allow my ear to completely heal from a bad fitting ear mold that has to be repaired as soon as my ear is healed and the ear mold can be correctly reshaped. I have to have reliable backup aids at all times if i am going to even have a chance to understand speech.