Realistic lifespan of hearing aids

That’s just the nominal number of service cycles that the batteries will do before they drop below 70% charge or whatever figure the manufacturer suggests where they won’t do a full 12 hours.

That’s not a ‘total lifespan’ figure, but it does mean the aids need a battery update to extend the longevity.

@RobHooft said:

But the Spheres (my next model) come with very high capacity (when new)- it will take an eternity before they won’t make me last a day.

Don’t want to wait until August for new models?

Swiss insurance reimburses ‘only’ every five years…

Like in my country (although it’s partial). What about six years (like with newer than Infinio platform). Is there any penalty for waiting 1 year more?

Costs aside, the other primary question is, “How fast is the technology changing?” While I guess HA technology is changing rapidly, I don’t have inside knowledge to that effect. So, I am wondering if 3-5 years is not the optimum window for replacement?

@user844 said:

So, I am wondering if 3-5 years is not the optimum window for replacement?

Normally what you have said is true. However, when we make a comparison e. g. Phonak Audeo Infinio Sphere vs. Lumity or Oticon Intent vs. Real, the differences can be massive.

Are you saying manufacturer comparisons are more important than the time before replacement??

@Neville said:

You think there’s going to be something new? We got the ultra upgrade just in October. I hadn’t really been expecting a new Phonak RIC in 2026. They still need to extend the infinio to their BTEs.

IIRC, in the 2024 Phonak released Naida Lumity without previous “warnings”. Maybe it is probably the same situation now?

EDIT:
Spice - Jan 2011; Spice+ - Nov 2011
Quest - Oct 2012
Venture - Oct 2014
Belong - Sept 2016
END OF EDIT.

Marvel - Oct 2018
Paradise - Aug 2020
Lumity - Aug 2022
Infinio - Aug 2024.

I don’t think new firmware changed the roadmap.

Do they need to bother when they are still out front on many ratings? The firmware buys them time to get the design more efficient, smaller, and let NAL-NL3 rollout as well as competitive models.

I don’t expect much lead time in product announcements from HA manufacturers. I’d expect current model sales to plummet or require big discounts the moment an announcement is made. In fact, many manufacturers of other products discount their products heavily at some point in the lifecycle. which I take to mean that a new product is ready to ship or close to RTS.

It’s consistently been in the 4 year range for me. I seem to be a believer in “the grass is always greener”, on the technology aspect.

@user490 said:

updated chips to make Sphere less bulky

I think the main cause of the Spheres’ bulkiness is their battery size. Batteries aren’t in Moore’s Law…

they need to ditch the bluetooth classic to make the instrument smaller.

I have found that seven years is a good figure to go by with laptops, hearing aids or anything else with complex electronics. Things always seem to start breaking around year eight. Obviously this is not hard and fast as some things pack up long before that and other things last twice that length of time. But for a budgeting rule and to benefit from technological improvements as well, I generally find 7 years is the sweet spot. Replacing too frequently (especially nowadays) does not generate as much benefit as it used to as improvements are now evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Having said that, I use the seven year rule as a guide, rather than, oh I have to replace this now.