Rechargeable vs disposable batteries

[quote=“x475aws, post:5, topic:91616”]
Rechargeable aids have more points of failure…"

Ummm…no. Rechargeables are sealed. No battery door to break. Better protection against moisture. I’ve been using rechargeable aids for coming up on three years, after decades of using disposable aids. I see no real points of failure. rather the opposite. Plus, no worries about changing batteries! I ain’t going back!

@AlexE - I’m one of those who will NEVER go to rechargeables unless they last a week between charges. Minimum. One day is insufficient for my needs. My Oticon Xceed 1 plus CROS, which are disposable battery aids, last me all week - at least 7-9 days (even when streaming all day) before I have to change them.

If they are able to get rechargeables to last for a full 7-9 days, I will switch. Until then, eff rechargeables.

I own and use both. For daily use, I wear my Phonak Bolero m90 rechargeables with Bluetooth, which I really like, but if I plan to take a trip, even overnight, I’ll go with my Phonak Bolero V70s, a handful of 312 batteries, and leave the bulky charger at home.

I enjoy the best of both worlds.

So what do you do if for goodness sake your aids with disposable batteries crap out.
I am now planning a trip of 11 days this time next month. My check list has all 3 sets of my rechargeable aids on it with chargers and backup chargers. I don’t worry about traveling light, I worry about not being able to hear. By the way my chargers are also rechargeable, can typical charge my aids 4 times without recharging. And the charger can be recharged with about any usb port which are every where now days. My Jeep has half a dozen usb ports. And my RV trailer has about a dozen ports.
And I have seen usb ports in restaurants, bars, airports, you name it. I am not telling you to ditch your disposable aids. I am just saying there is always options.

@cvkemp said:

My check list has all 3 sets of my rechargeable aids on it with chargers and backup chargers.

Do you take all 3 set of hearing aids when going away?

@cvkemp said:

I don’t worry about traveling light

I like travelling light. 5 days away, I took a 6 litre bag which wasn’t full as well.

When I travel an stay in RV Parks yes I take all three. On this trip we have 3 layovers. So we have three setups and teardowns, meaning 6 chances for my auds to get wet or lost. Also I will be spending most days with old military brothers and sisters and talking about old times.

Oh I don’t fly anymore and haven’t even been in an airport in 14 years. I despise the ridiculous security BS at the airports, and the plane seats aren’t large enough for a 10 year old much less a 6 foot 200 pound man like me.

@jeffrey said:

Rechargeables are sealed. No battery door to break. Better protection against moisture.

Oticon Real rechargeable and conventional aids have the same IP rating, as you can see in the manual page below. Only difference is that water can put the conventional aids out of service, temporarily, while they dry. If this happens to someone regularly, then rechargeable aids would be a better choice for them.

True, battery doors are a vulnerability in conventional aids. Battery doors don’t seem to come up often on this forum, for whatever reason. The way I manage my aids, at least, the doors are exposed to damage mainly when I change batteries, not when I crack the door open before putting the aids in the dryer at night. I don’t think that fixing a broken door requires sending the aids to the factory, rather my audiologist’s office would take care of it. A DIY’er, or even a mechanically handy person who doesn’t DIY program, could presumably keep spare doors and pins around.

why can’t we just accept that we all have our beliefs and likes and preferences and leave it at that. There is no need to say anymore than what you do and use. We never change anyone by being forcefull our rude.
There is quickly coming a time that disposable batteries are no longer going to be available due to over zealous government law makers that have no earthly idea of what they are doing or imposing on the public, all because of small groups of people that have a hair up their butts about something ridiculous. And these groups are blind to the true reason that their are disposable batteries in the first place or why they are needed by some individuals, but we don’t need to add fuel to their fires.

It is not nescessarily the government forcing changes. Making one style versus the same hearing aid in a disposable battery and in a rechargeable battery version is very costly. And like anyone else, they want to be competitive. And cutting costs allows this to happen. Also, new battery technology is getting so good that you can expect that the rechargeable batteries will last the life of the hearing aid. I have a Samsung watch that 4 years old and still on the original battery. My brothers hearing aids are almost 4 years old and on their original battery. And if a rechargeable battery goes bad it can be replaced…

It isn’t necessarily about how long the batteries last in years it is about how many hours the batteries last without needing a charge. I am retired but i have younger friends and family members that work 24 hour shifts, our travel where they are unable to use a charger for over 24 hours. Even with a quick charge of 15 to 30 minutes isn’t possible.

But there is no information available about when each manufacturer will refuse to support your now “old model” aids after those first 3-4 years. “Old models” have traditionally not been supported after about 5-6 years when it comes to repairs or replacement eg. If one aid lost.
My current aids are about 9 years old but essentially replaced at the 4 years mark under warranty. People’s definition of the life of hearing aids varies.

You took my comments out of context, i was talking about how long the batteries last for a single charge. There are individuals that work extremely lomg hours without any type of break, I was one if those individuals before I retired. As an IT professional doing phone support I have been on a since call for 36 hours before to get a whole data center back on line. There isn’t a rechargeable hearing aid that can last that long.

Let me then suggest a new problem with disposable batteries: Reese’s law. You now need a pair of scissors to get you disposable batteries out of their packaging! But at least children, who only swallow batteries they can take out of the package are fully protected! I’ve been thinking about rechargeable but they really don’t fit my needs.

@Psocoptera said:

Actually I work in an ICU and head the cardiac arrest team when on duty. Although I usually get some sleep during my 24 hour shift I cannot count on that. I have had shifts where I had no sleep at all.

Yes, I also work in the ICU and operating rooms. I hope that after buying the Infinio Sphere, I will keep my Paradise as a spare HA (purchased in late 2020).

However, I completely understand the problem with rechargeables.