Oh My - Has Phonak stopped using disposable batteries?

phones are way easier to get a charger cord for. When my spouse was in the hospital for an emergency, the patient services office had charger cords they would lend you. Not so with hearing aid chargers. Batteries are pretty easy to get also. In an emergency I would much prefer battery aids. I stick the batteries everywhere, purse, laptop case, and the glove compartment.

@jeffrey said:

I manage to charge my phone just fine. I don’t hear a big brouhaha over having to charge phones.

Well said! Or watches either. So what’s the issue with rechargeable HAs?
I’ve had mine for two years now and would NEVER consider going back to fiddly expensive batteries.

Edit: This is a long running thread … I hope that the OP has received the information they need and it helps. Cast my vote. replaceable batteries

Again: I (and most users) have a rechargeable HA case that will provide 3 full charges for your aids without needing a cord. It weighs a few ounces at most and is small enough to fit in one’s pants pocket. Mine came free with my aids. They’re relatively inexpensive. Hospitals also have electical outlets. It would have been easy to bring your charger with you. I don’t see what the problem was…

you have to have the recharger box with you ! It isn’t just the cord

As we approach another (pointless in my mind) discussion about rechargeable hearing aids that will reach 100 posts, I really don’t get it. Both can work. Both have pluses and minuses. Most of the minuses can be mitigated. If your aids are mission critical, you need to learn to carry a charger with you, just as you carry batteries with you.

Yeah @MDB, it gets folks dander up, rechargeable v disposable, it is always going to be contentious, lots of folks love their rechargeable aids, and rightly so, if they suit your lifestyle, and their hearing loss, then they are an obvious choice… For me personally, I detest rechargeable aids in their present design, for many reasons they are inferior to the disposable battery version, one of which is their tendency to shut down in “Sub Zero” temperatures, these Li-on reachable aids have a BMS (Battery Management System) they will switch off, and not reboot until replaced in the charger, this happened to me on 2 separate occasions whilst out in the sticks, working in challenging circumstances, it is a known issue with Phonak rechargeable aids, in fact, Phonak replaced the M90 rechargeable aids, with M90 disposable p13’s, even though I was outside the 60 day trial period, with no quibble whatsoever… Which tells me, they know all about this issue… In truth, a M90 p13 with 105db RIC’s doesn’t quite cut it any more with my loss, and as far as I am aware, a rechargeable UP or SP aids from Phonak has yet to be developed, or indeed any of the other top 6 manufacturers? So the Naida UP with 675 batteries, is the only obvious weapon of choice, at present… I suffer from severe anxiety, a legacy from 2 bouts of Sepsis, which caused PTSD, or sometimes called Sepsis Syndrome, and perhaps the last thing I need is any range anxiety with hearing aids… Cheers Kev

Kev thank you for your wonderful explanation.

I bought a fancy vest. It’s designed in the US for concealed weapon carry. Scott E Vest. I had 23 pockets. I don’t have a weapon so that left one pocket empty. I could put it on at the beginning of the day. All my anxiety was gone! I did look strange with the pockets full. Oh–that was the second one I bought. The first one was stylish and fit me empty. Point is I couldn’t wear it when it was full.

It does take a while to check every pocket.

Stuffing my charger in a pocket would look really strange. Mine is about the size of 1/2 of a large coffee edit: Cup! not pot!

These people that make these things should have to use them and put up with lousy battery life. And microscopic wax guards. And domes and more.

DaveL
Toronto

@DaveL said:

Mine is about the size of 1/2 of a large coffee pot.

Whoa! mine fits easily in the palm of my hand. Or a pocket.

Choosing a HA based on unlikely contingencies seems…the wrong way to go about it.

@kevels55, Oticon Xceed UP 1 with 675 batteries still have 50% power after 2 weeks! Normal usage with1 hr streaming per day. Looks convenience for me.
When you feel uneasy and forgetful due to sepsis/PTSD, go to check up immediately. Take care and stay healthy. Cheers…

Yep @danka thank you, I take probiotics every single day to nurture my Microbiome, each of us has around 3 1/2lbs of good bacteria in our gut, and without it, we can’t survive… We would have no immune system, unfortunately antibiotics kill off the good bacteria in conjunction with the bad, it will take approximately 6 months for your Microbiome to rebuild after any dose of antibiotics, avoiding red meat is probably preferential, farmers found out many years ago, if they dosed their cattle with antibiotics, they gained weight… Hence, I am a pescatarian, I have been so, for many years… Perhaps this was a factor in me surviving Sepsis twice, perhaps not… Apologies for being off subject folks!!! Understandably, I try to avoid all aspects of stress, anxiety, and panic attacks, it can, and does aggravate my existing condition, I will avoid rechargeable aids like the plague, I don’t need added range anxiety, perhaps at present a mute point, when they aren’t powerful enough yet, to power UP/SP aids for my needs… I will say no more… Cheers Kev

I’m glad you’re confident. Doesn’t work for me.

I had real issues with the performance of my hearing aids in hospital. I posted here about it. I couldn’t understand what was being said. I was warned I might be staying overnight. Heart procedure. I did. My hearing aids last about 15 hours without any streaming. That’s real world.

I shall edit. Mine is the size of a 1/2 coffee CUP. That’s the charger.

Some buy a 2nd set of hearing aids. Much more compact but a slightly(??!) more expensive solution.

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not the infection that kills you in sepsis, but the body’s overreactive immune response. May seem like splitting hairs as the maladaptive immune response wouldn’t happen without the infection and the infection still needs to be treated.