Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Devices running on Disposable Batteries with Tap Control

This topic is closed.

17 replies1.5k viewsLast reply

Link to this topic

Greetings forum members!

I’m currently in the process of researching hearing aids with disposable batteries that feature tap control functionality. If anyone has valuable insights or recommendations regarding reliable brands or specific models, I would greatly appreciate your input. Eager to hear about your experiences with this technology. Thanks in advance for your assistance!

10 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest

As far as I’m aware you’ll only find hearing aids with tap controls that are rechargable. Phonak doesn’t allow tap control on its premium aids unless they are rechargeable versions.

The reason is because of the battery drain and voltage difference, hopefully your not actually going to base your purchase on whether it has this or not, Phonak rechargeables have known issues which you’ll find plenty of posts here on hearingtracker.

They’ve just announced Phonak Lumity hearing aids with replaceable batteries.

@gsl

Do you require higher power behind the ear hearing aids?
You’re shows your hearing loss is worse than mine. Would the Phonak Nadia ? Lumity hearing aid suit you better?

For what it’s worth, I have Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s and the rechargeable batteries don’t last long enough for me. I also had terrible results getting them setup by the dispensing audi. I blamed the hearing aids for a year and a half. This model has been replaced by the Lumity series.

For those users who have Tap Control on their and also have iWatch (or any other smartwatch?), is Tap Control still useful for pausing music or receiving calls?

I second what @tenkan said, and I’m probably one of the posters he’s referring to. I’ve also seen complaints about other brands, and it seems like it’s a known issue across the board. That said, I’ve also seen a few Phonak users say this works great for them, so it probably depends a lot on use and lifestyle. But you should assume it will be hit-or-miss, so don’t make purchasing decisions based on this unless you’ve got a long trial period to test out whether it works for you.

In reply to @shebang

I’m not technically savy.

I have an iPhone SE and an iWatch 6. And Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s. I use tap control to answer my phone. I don’t stream music. I need to learn how to do it.

Dave

In reply to @DaveL

@DaveL said:

Would the Phonak Nadia ? Lumity hearing aid suit you better?

I am still with Marvel Audeo, before that, I used to have power hearing aids. But I prefer the smaller size which is why I prefer Audeo models.

I am considering to trial a few others, like Oticon, maybe Resound, etc.

In reply to @shebang

I dont have apple, but I love the tap control on my paradise…it pauses music for conversations. A quick tap and music is back…

I use it to answer phone calls and to disconnect…

The best of tap feature for me is pausing TV sounds when my wife wants to have a conversation.

In reply to @tenkan

@tenkan said:

The reason is because of the battery drain and voltage difference

Already posted this on another thread, and I’ll repeat it here…

Accelerometers’ assumed incompatibility with disposables isn’t a voltage issue, since there are accelerometers that can run on zinc-air battery voltage. Cumulative battery drain (mAh) as the issue doesn’t add up, since zinc-air is the mAh champion.
That leaves current draw as an issue. But accelerometers draw seriously little current, as shown here:

IMG_0594

So I don’t buy the claim that disposable battery aids can’t use an accelerometer.

In reply to @x475aws

@x475aws said:

But accelerometers draw seriously little current, as shown here

Yeah but it still depends on how often there “working” so over time it needs to be taken into consideration.

@x475aws said:

Accelerometers’ assumed incompatibility with disposables isn’t a voltage issue,

Yeah those are obviously incompatible for use, there’s not any manufacturer doing this with zinc air, I don’t know where you got that chart from, but is it possible you could get the specs for the ones Phonak are using, this would be a very interesting comparison, because could it be that Phonak is deliberately holding back zinc air?

@DaveL said:

Could it be a space constraint?

Yes that could be the issue also, but very little difference in size between them.

Hearing aid current draw is typically a couple of milliamperes continuously. The accelerometer I posted about draws around a microampere continuously. A microampere is 1/1000th of a milliampere. So the accelerometer’s current draw is simply negligible in comparison to the rest of the aid. Whatever accelerometer is used by Phonak, its numbers aren’t going to differ by enough to matter.

As I recall, the justification for omitting accelerometer-based functions from disposable battery aids came from a Phonak rep who told a hearing practitioner, who in turn reported it on here. Of course I don’t know where the rep heard it, and I don’t doubt that he or she thought it was true.

I have just ordered and tried Phonak Audeo P70 T-13 ( T-13 is replaceable battery)
Audiologists are very lacking in knowing all the functions of a particular hearing aids. I’ve been to three and returned three ’s. The P70’s were sold to me as having tap control. They do not. After 5 emails with Phonak and providing the actual serial numbers of the hearing aids they confirmed that the P70 do not have tap control. They web side says they do. So far, as I can tell only rechargeables have the tap. I have the Phonak Audeo Paradise rechargeable now ( 3.5 yrs old) and can not live without the tap control. Try answering the phone with a ski helmet or a snow hat and gloves on. I work with tools all day with hat, ear muffs, safety googles and gloves on. The tap control is a game changer. Answer and hang up calla and pause and start streaming. The tap control is GREAT. I want a battery HA because I steam books all day and the rechargeables are dead by 8 PM.
Phonak customer service has been no help in finding the right HA. Neither have the Audiologists I’ve seen.

Anybody got any ideas???

My priorities are tap control, replaceable battery, not LE (low energy) Bluetooth as is does not connect to existing Bluetooth devices, IE 2 TV’s and an Android tablet & S24+ phone. Jabra does not not work well with Android or standard . Resound Nexia the same as Jabra for connectivity. Phonak P70 no tap control. And of course I want to get better hearing in restaurants!! Money is not an issue.

Not sure if this is helpful, but I can control both streaming and phone calls for both disposable battery Widex Moments and rechargeable KS10’s (similar to Phonak P90’s) through the buttons on my Garmin Forerunner watch. Medium weight gloves work just fine, not sure about heavy ski gloves.

FWIW I have Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s. My dispensing audi was a hero when he got them. Had them in his hand; he hadn’t asked me what I wanted.

They had a 3 year warranty replacement. New hearing aids and charger. Genuine thank you to Phonak. the new batteries now work all day.

Only saying so because I was dead set against rechargeable batteries. The original ones were terrible. He could have specked 312 batteries instead and I would have been happier.

My new replacement hearing aids don’t say Phonak on them anywhere… Don’t know why…

Related discussions