Comparison of battery life (mAh) in eight different brands of hearing aid batteries

Hearing Aid Batteries
#69

Greetings from Switzerland.

I have 2010-era ReSound Dot2 in both ears - these take size 10 batteries.

My audi sells both Rayovac and Power One (Varta) - prices are pretty similar unless he has a special offer on one of them. Locals supermarkets stock both Duracell and Varta branded batteries but I’ve never bought from them as they only sell single 6-packs rather than the more economical boxes of 10x 6-packs.

I get at best 3.5 days with the Rayovacs, and usually nearly 4 days with the Power Ones.

I tended to get a lot of duds with the Rayovacs - maybe 1 in every second 6-pack so, and so after swapping between both brands in the early days based on price, I’ve been using Power Ones exclusively in the past 2-3 years.

#70

Ever since I got my HA five years ago, I’ve been buying my batteries from the sponsor of the site. I’ve been buying their “no name” brand which is called “icelltech”. I have seen that same product advertised by other sellers. They seem to last almost as long as the more expensive namebrand battery. A couple weeks ago, I bought a pack of batteries when I was at Costco. They were cheaper, at least 10 or 20% cheaper. A few that I’ve tried lasted at least as long as the ones I had been using.
This does create a moral dilemma. This site was extremely useful in educating me in the year before I finally got my first HA. It has been useful since then as well. I figured I would say at least 20 or $25 a year buying all my batteries at Costco. I guess I can justify the added cost by saying that the added “service” I get from this site is worth $20 a year.

#71

I wear Unitrons Moxis. I have tried Rayovac, Energizers, CVSs branded, and Duracells. Duracells are the only ones that I find to be reliable. I have found brand new Rayovacs to be DOA. The energizes and the CVS batteries were giving me less than 24 hours. I don’t know if I have just been unlucky with non-Duracells or if my hearing aids are persnickety but, I get 5-6 days consistently with the Duracells.

I am picking up a set of Trax42s on Wednesday with size 13 recharables. I hope they give me more consistent performance.

#72

The 13’s should serve you. Some have reported that the 312’s don’t last an extra full day. They need to be recharged nightly compared to replaced weekly or whatever.

I too like Duracell and have gotten good results with them. Although the Costco ones do almost as well. I get about a day extra with the Duracell. That makes the Costco ones a bit more cost effective but I also like the longer pull tabs on the Duracell. The Costco ones are too short for easy use with my hands.

#73

Here are two links to the science project of a 14 year old boy that support waiting 5 minutes after removing the tab on air activated batteries.

The videos are worth watching.

http://legacy.kare11.com/story/news/education/2015/06/09/mn-8th-grader-makes-medical-discovery/28771777/

http://kimt.com/2015/05/05/student-makes-discovery-when-it-comes-to-extending-hearing-aid-battery-life/

RodeoGeorge

#74

Yes, the young man and his study have been debunked here already. Numerous testers here could find no difference.

#75

I’d be more interested if anybody has found that aids were struggling to maintain their longer term performance with the latest mercury free batteries across any battery/hearing aid type.

#76

I have been using Rayovac and since they passed to the MF era they had issues. Voltage was 1,4 now they mention 1,45. DOA and huge fluctuations even a day of life. Now things seem again normal. No problems last 6 months.
I do believe that it would be time to do the test again that was done 6 years ago by the admin. Rayovac, PowerOne are the main competitors out there with icell, Zpower, Duracell
I wish i could do it for all of you i would be willing to do so if i was explained what equipment i need to have to do it.
I am thinking switching to Power one but not sure yet. Now people may use wireless also that do drain the battery faster for sure …that would be an addition to the test !!!

#77

I use duracell. They cost more but batteries are a cheap part of it all. The duracells last a day or two longer for me. They come in a plastic case that is easy to throw in a pocket. They also have longer tabs which are a nice feature.

#78

My audiologist had numerous complaints about Rayovac batteries that he sold a while ago and switched back to Power One. I myself find no difference between them since I get 8 days of power in my HA’s with both brands. One caveat is that when I use accessories such as the Compilot, it tends to cut the time by a few hours.

#79

If your question refers to h.a. performance over the lifespan of the battery, the discharge curve for zinc-air batteries is very flat. That is, their output voltage remains quite constant until they give out completely.

Open-circuit battery output voltage is a function of the chemical reaction that makes them work. So all zinc-air batteries will have the same open-circuit voltage, regardless of manufacturer.

#80

I have been wearing hearing aids for 35+ years and while battery technology from my first aid to now are vastly different when looking at modern batteries, be it 13 or 312 I have found little difference between the high priced models and the cheap Chinese Ebay batteries. My aids are on 16+ hours days and are high powered models. I get a week of life out of most batteries, be it high cost name brand and cheap Chinese batteries.
Failure rates are about the same regardless of who’s name is on the package. For $12-15 I can get 60 batterys to meet my needs for a year.

#81 
 I think your math is wrong - unless you only have one HA.   If a battery lasts a week - you would need 50-60 for ONE for a year.  Two HA would take twice as many.   I agree - not much diff. between "no-name" and expensive branded - not enuf to make up price  diff.
#82

I only have one HA…

#83

Please feel free to point out the error to my logic here, but has anyone tried using different brands at the same time? I.e. Use Rayovac in one HA and Duracell in the other. That would give a mostly similar side by side comparison. Then take the “winner” of that one and compare it to a different brand.

Of course if you only wear one HA this wouldn’t work :rolleyes:

#84

One hearing aid could be set to a different volume and use more power.

How about switching HA’s each day until one runs out of power?

#85

How are you disposing of dead batteries?

I collect mine (all sizes, not just HA batteries) in a Ziplock bag and recycle them when the baggie is full. The audiologist office, electronics or big box home supply stores, public sanitation or fire departments and some tool suppliers are possible drop off sites for earth-friendly disposal alternatives.

#86

Since many HA batteries have mercury (or had mercury), I saved all the ones I have replaced at home (hundreds) in a small box. 6 years worth. Don’t know what I’ll do with them. We do save the AA, AAA, C and D batteries and drop them off at BB.
Do HA batteries still have mercury? Even off brand ones?

#87

Current hearing aid batteries do not have mercury. They are made from zinc.

#88

Have been using Costco brand batteries. Last ones I bought had 4 dead ones in one pack. Was getting 6 days out of them. Had my free powerone batteries I received for filling out a suvey and got 10 days out of first set. Size 312. # 0f days more helpful than hours