Should I be skeptical about rechargeable hearing aid?

I honestly never think about my batteries running out - I get a tone about an hour before they are going to die (usually I find I have more like 2-3 hours) and either I change them or ignore it if I’m not doing anything that needs uninterrupted hearing. But I’ve had pretty severe and profound hearing loss my whole life so I’ve been managing and passing for a long time. With or without my HAs I need captioning to consistently understand others in a meeting or presentation so if my HAs die I always have the captioning in place anyway. Prior to live captioning becoming readily available in the last few years and reasonably accurate everything was a lot more challenging and I really relied on my HAs always being on.

I also have no qualms changing my HA batteries in public if I really need to though usually I step away if possible - I’m always surprised at how little other people notice.

@kevels55 said:

I don’t think a battery app for replaceable batteries, would be of much use, zinc air batteries, tend to hold their voltage well, then there is a rapid decline

I accepted that common knowledge until I started paying attention to the battery gauge in my Real 1 312 aids. There is information to be gleaned from the numbers it shows. Two posts of mine earlier in this thread:

https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/should-i-be-skeptical-about-rechargeable-hearing-aid/83786/296

https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/should-i-be-skeptical-about-rechargeable-hearing-aid/83786/365

@kevels55 said:

I have had physical battery checkers in the past, but if I am being honest, they could give me a voltage reading , but not the amount of juice

An unloaded voltage reading, perhaps, which is useless. The app-reported (or MFi-reported) charge level, while admittedly not linear, is based on voltage under actual load.

Guys, if my Signia Pure 7 IX doesnt lie, then after 7H of non-stop streaming i still have 90% of battery

I appreciate @x475aws, you might pay closer attention to a 312 battery, as opposed to a 675, the runtime is vastly different… I just wouldn’t use a battery gauge, even if it where highly accurate, it wouldn’t float my boat, but each to their own… Zinc Air, just works, and it works well… I am highly interested in LiFePO4 Lithium Batteries though, I have literally thousands of pounds worth, and because they are extremely expensive, replacing them is cost prohibitive, so I like to take care of them, I have approximately 21kw of of LiFePO4 rechargeable battery bank, with 4kw of solar on my house roof, on top of that, all my Dewalt tools run on either 18 volt, or 54 volt rechargeable batteries, I have at least 6 chargers, and about 20 batteries, between 4ah & 6ah, you could say, I am am a lover of all things rechargeable, with one extreme omission, I do not (as yet) rate Lithium batteries worthy of my hearing care needs, but I am certain at some point in the future, they will make an “Ultra Power Hearing Aid”, with an excellent runtime, (Perhaps 2 to 5 days) with easy access to replace a Lithium rechargeable battery, so we can hot swap out, with a replacement recharged battery… When that day shines, I will be first in the cue, Cheers Kev

That’s what today’s rechargeables will need to do to get me to accept them: make them last 50 years between charges. At 44, I have probably 25-30 years left on this earth, statistically speaking. I am not sacrificing my hearing for the hours it takes to recharge.

They might be fine for retirees who don’t have a career anymore and don’t care about that aspect. But they are not for me until they can guarantee no downtime with my hearing.

even 1 month would be nice

Music to my ears, @Liviu. Music to my ears.

My Phonak Naida B UP + CROS Unit (before they pissed me off and don’t provide support for my hearing loss anymore with a Naida UP CROS Unit) gave me around 2 hours of warnings before they died.

I believe I’ve been getting warnings since my first Phonaks when I was a teenager about 30 years ago. Always 1-2 hours of warning with a beep every 30 minutes. I think they may get less accurate with time - my last HAs which were almost 10 years old by the time I replaced them were giving me warnings 1-2 days before actually dying at the end

Edit: I’ve been wearing BTE UPs my whole life and I wonder if that might be a factor in how the warnings work.

I would say it’s about an hour @Heather_R , but it’s probably longer? I haven’t timed it though, much might depend on the battery size? 675 batteries being bigger, perhaps you an earlier warning beep? Cheers Kev

I’m with you. I was a little concerned when I transitioned to rechargeables, but now I would really be disappointed if I had to go back to those darn batteries. It’s so much more convenient for me to just pop my HAs in the charger when I go to bed and pop them back in when I get up in the morning, and not have to remember to take batteries with me whenever I go out. Other advantages to rechargeables include: easier for those who may have dexterity issues, they are more moisture resistant, and you don’t have the risk of breaking a battery drawer hinge (which I have done before). Having said that, to answer the OP, I don’t think there is any reason to be “skeptical”, but I do think that your lifestyle should be a factor in your decision. For example, if you work in a job with long shifts, rechargeables may not be for you unless you can afford a backup pair. And just a reminder to those who haven’t yet transitioned to rechargeables, if your HA battery charge is getting low, you don’t have to charge them to 100% before wearing them again (sort of like a smartphone). And full disclosure here – I do have a backup pair, and they are also rechargeables. While they were still under warranty I had the batteries replaced, even though the batteries were still good. I upgraded from Phonak Paradise to Lumity because the former just were not working well for me, and the Lumities are a huge improvement. There are obviously those who embrace new technologies and those who will fight it tooth and nail, but like you, I think the handwriting is on the wall for replaceable batteries, but I’m not necessarily sure that’s a good thing because it’s good to have choices. And to the OP I would suggest trialing rechargeables and see for yourself whether they are right for you

@Liviu do you have the Signia Pure 7 IX T version or the regular (non T) version?

@auntpie said:

I do have a backup pair, and they are also rechargeables. While they were still under warranty I had the batteries replaced, even though the batteries were still good.

I trust you’ll perform the recommended battery maintenance on the backup pair every 6 months or so.

I’m not sure what that is, so I probably won’t do it.