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"Child Resistant" hearing aid batteries — issues?

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Yes my child who is 20 but has weak fingers found the new package terrible. We got them new hearing aids on Friday and they were looking forward to going back to battery operated after having had recharables that didn’t hold the charge long enough.
Not only were the batteries hard to get into but they are smaller 312 instead of 13’s so they are harder to access.
my mom has Parkinson’s so the rechargeables are better for her. She doesn’t stream. I still have a packet of the old batteries for myself and plan to keep a hold of one of the old packets to carry spares rather than carry scissors around with me.

@x475aws said:

No, it’s dated November 18, 2024.

Ah! Thank you for that. I got my date off the top of the memorandum, but see that at the very end it is indeed dated 11/18/24. Alrighty, let’s hope someone takes ACTION on behalf of us who don’t want to slice a thumb opening these battery packages.

In reply to @user990

@user990 said:

It won’t do you any good. The packaging was tested to federal testing standards, which includes the elderly person testing section, and approved.

The point is that Reese’s Law was intended to protect against ingestion hazards from batteries, and zinc-air batteries don’t present an ingestion hazard. So the decision to include zinc-air, apparently out of an abundance of caution, is arguably a mistake since it adversely affects so many people.

@user990 said:

Just use a pair of scissors and cut to the center of the package on both sides of the battery. This form a pie shape section from which the battery is easily removed.

I can do that. Some people can’t because of hand or eye problems.

In reply to @Oldwillie

No way I would do it that way! You making this way harder then it needs to be.

Just make sure you cut with a pair scissors all the way to the center of the package

Edited

I’ve just done a google check for pics of this new child resistant packing. I could well be wrong, but it doesn’t appear to be very much difference to what we have had for 4+ years downunder in Australia.

Sure they aren’t easy to open, but not impossible to do with your hands. Even with RA & OA in my hands I can still manage without resorting to using scissors.

Here’s what we have in OZ.
It won’t accept a pic of the reverse side of packaging sorry.

IMG_2699

In reply to @x475aws

@x475aws said:

The batteries are between two sheets of plastic that are crimped together.

OW. SO that’s how it is. Yep. I’ve got one of those heavy-duty welded plastic cutting shears that’d get the job done.

I’ll just wear a handymam’s tool apron so I can carry them with me in case I need to cut open a battery pack.

Um. Reese’s folk: are you READING this?

In reply to @blazingsword

@blazingsword said:

The hearing instrument specialist at my audiologist said that you cannot put the loose batteries, (after you cut them out), together in a container as they will lose strength or not work at all.

I have been keeping from 4 to 8 bat’s in a repurposed memory card holder for the last 15 years or so and NEVER have any of the bat’s loose they’re potential or shorted out, all are layed flat on a thin foam pad so when closed they don’t move around, your specialist may not be totally informed.

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