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"Child Resistant" hearing aid batteries — issues?

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20250210_112207

I got this from a US seller on Temu. It works very well, although expensive to the UK

New battery pack instant removal trick. No cutting.

Remove the paper packaging. Simply use a lighter for a second on the bottom side of the plastic. The 1 second of heat softens the plastic instantly and with a slight pull separates the batteries from the packaging

Of course remember to store each individual battery separately. Don’t let them touch or the battery will go dead.

I’m new to this forum but not to hearing aids or batteries. I am fortunate in that my hearing adis are supplied by Uncle Sam but I recently got a large number of the new child proof packages. All the suggestions for storage of the batteries AFTER they are removed from the original packaging still require the initial step of removal using whatever cheap and sleazy ideas you may have. I’m still mastering the process but I also have several packages of the older batteries and I keep a package in each of my vehicles so if I need to change them I don’t have to scare up a blade. When I run out of those spares I’m not sure what I’ll do although I like the idea of saving the old packaging and then doing a mass opening to refill it.

They are truly horrible, awful, dangerous, improved beyond usefulness. I’m normally pretty unflappable, but this one’s got me super riled up. LOL I’m totally blind and never learned to use scissors very well. I can only start to imagine what it’s like for people with motor issues in their hands. We definitely need another solution. I found one product One Power batteries on Amazon that doesn’t have this horrible child-proofing idea.

Sorry, to do this, but the edit function doesn’t seem to be accessible with a screen-reader. Correction: the batteries I found are called Power One. (Hopefully they haven’t changed.)

This is a classic case of a good intention gone wrong! The intent was to protect children from ingesting batteries, and the manufacturers are simply complying with legislation. If you find packages without the ‘new’ packaging it is probably just old stock and will be updated when the supply is gone.

I practical terms, though, it does the opposite. Since it is so difficult, and requires scissors, people will likely disassemble the whole package, leaving HA batts loose, which is risker than the previous packaging. I have sent more than one batt flying across the room while trying to open one of these new packages.

@MrAerodynamic said:

If you find packages without the ‘new’ packaging it is probably just old stock and will be updated when the supply is gone.

Yes. The Costco batteries I bought looked like the old ones but are actually packaged in a way that resists access. Brute force works for me so far.

I thought the law does not encompass batteries and applied only to LI ones.

I think the law was targeted at the larger coin cell batteries as that was culprit in the case that prompted this. batteries just got swept up into it.

In reply to @DeafBlindBat

Didn’t even consider this angle. Yeah that sucks :frowning: There are “safety” scissors they make for kids which are much harder to cut yourself with, but those generally don’t work well for cutting hard plastic like this. That said, I think someone with no or very limited eyesight could learn to cut open these packages safely entirely by feel with practice and with someone supervising until you get the hang of it.

You know yourself best though.

I can actually open the package with less trouble than my sighted husband, who has neuropathy in his fingers. It’s very annoying and unwieldy, though, and I am not going to carry scisors around with me all the time. That is just silly. :crazy_face: :slightly_smiling_face:light_smile:

One for the manufacturers; is there any reason why the batteries can’t be sold in vertical strips on one or both sides of a cardboard core? The reason for the dial was to give a pop-out window, but that’s moot given the new packaging requirement. If you made a strip with an accessible weld point at the top and bottom of each indented bubble, the pack could be cut horizontally to release each cell.
Build the tab into the backer so the peel out happens as a function of removing the cell. With half a brain you could also run two vertical lines of cells down the sides of a standard card, thereby allowing one cut to release each pair; meaning that you wouldn’t have to redesign display stands and outer packaging either.

These are horrible. If somebody lives in her district,
US House Rep Debbie Dingell has been a champ on hearing-loss issues. Contact her. I would pay more. Sign a waiver. Get them from behind a counter like decongestant. Anything to keep from dealing with this packing.

In reply to @MDB

I get my son to open the new packages, and transfer the batteries to either the old style packages or a child proof medicine bottle. This is the most awful thing that I have to deal with about my entire hearing loss.

Got my first new style packaging Power One batteries from forum’s host. I found that a couple of twists, lengthwise, makes it easy to separate the 2 cardboard layers and remove the plastic holder. I put that on the shelf. I also filled an older package for carrying. Fairly easy.

Shared by a friend:

RE: The ChildProof Battery Case Challenge (5/7/2025)

I think I have a mostly reasonable, relatively efficient approach to accessing the CHILDPROOF PROTECTED hearing aid battery. Mind you, I am RETIRED!

This is after two prior attempts:

  • a.) two pliers, a wire cutter, a screwdriver, and a bladed pocketknife
  • b.) a Dremel to cut the plastic; worked but messy.

Neither being realistic.

Note: At the heart of the CHILDPROOF #675 battery package with 6 batteries is a two-layer plastic wheel made of, I am confident, MILITARY STRENGTH SPECIAL FORCES GRADE THREAT PROOF PLASTIC (if there is such a standard).

In the CHILDPROOF package, between each battery is a NUB (6 NUBS) I believe heat-treated to lock them to the second plastic layer. At the package center is a separate NUB (7th) to adhere the wheel to the cardboard packaging.

STEP 1:
Secure the battery package to a short, ~1”–2” thick board, scrap. Hold the package in place with a SPRING CLAMP (Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc.). This keeps the package from spinning, STEP 2.

STEP 2:
With the battery package held in place by the SPRING CLAMP (see graphic), fasten a ~9/64 DRILL BIT to a standard cordless HOME DRILL unit. The bit should be slightly larger than the NUB hole; keep trying/measuring for fit.

STEP 3:
Drill through each of the 7 NUBs. Once completed, the two plastic layers should separate, maybe with a little twisting pressure using a pocketknife blade. Remove batteries.

STEP 4:
Place the batteries into a HEARING AID BATTERY CASE.

  • To carry with you: use a two-compartment battery case (see graphic).
  • For storage at home: you will probably want a multi-battery storage unit (see graphic).

Caution: each battery is to remain separate/apart from the other batteries. Beware, if they touch each other, they can discharge, become useless.

STEP 5:
Refer to the below HEARING AID BATTERY CASES w/graphics — SEVERAL FROM ETSY.COM1, ONE FROM WALMART.COM5. Below, too, are SPRING CLAMP graphics.

Etsy.com1:
11.99 / 13.99, Mine (6 batteries) delivered = ~$20.00

WalMart.com:
Advertised price $7.993

image

Disclaimer: I have not tried these strategies so this is strictly at-your-own-risk advice!

My approach is similar to louyo above. I just twist the package back and forth a few times and then pry it apart. I don’t think the new packages are all that child resistant and don’t understand why others are having problems.

I take a pair of scissors and cut as close as I can around the outside circle of the batteries. Once I cut all the way around it is fairly easy to pull the plastic back off and dump the batteries out and reinstall them in one of the old holders.

In reply to @AbramBaileyAuD

@AbramBaileyAuD said:

I am confident, MILITARY STRENGTH SPECIAL FORCES GRADE THREAT PROOF PLASTIC (if there is such a standard).

:joy:Board, clamps, drill, knife – why are we all complaining when it’s such a piece of cake? The initiators of this regulation are from the government, and they were there to help.

In reply to @AbramBaileyAuD

Your post has to be sarcasm. A simpler way.
Remove the paper packaging. Simply use a lighter for a second on the bottom side of the plastic. The 1 second of heat softens the plastic instantly and with a slight pull separates the batteries from the packaging

No cutting no hassle no need to whine about the new packaging

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