#193

Other than Phonak Lumity RIC, they’re all supposed to be available with disposables. And reliable sources say that a 312 version of Lumity RIC will be available in a matter of months.

4 Likes
#194

Really?! I wouldn’t like to be sitting alongside you as you fiddle in the dark :wink:
Before going to a performance, I simply pop my HAs in the charger - no more putting in fresh batteries in case, and later swapping them back to make sure I get full value from my batteries. In four years with my Phonak P90Rs, I haven’t once wished to go back to the fiddly days of batteries.

#195

I agree entirely with your entire post, but you just brought up a sobering reality: if batteries are NO LONGER available for my Marvel aids, I’m SUNK in any kind of situation calling for more than 17.5 hrs a day of being able to hear if there’s no alternate power available. Even battery packs need recharging.

I think the HA industry - and the media that props it up - are pushing rechargeables by conducting studies that show “More people use rechargeable aids than battery aids!” Like it’s everyone’s favorite thing.

But NONE of these surveys ask the simple question: If given a choice, would you rather buy/use/own/wear a battery operated hearing aid or one that needs daily recharging?

Those with dexterity issues may prefer rechargeables (even tho the aids need careful seating in the base!); but many MANY others would rather have battery operated aids that last DAYS, are cheap to keep running, can be taken virtually ANYWHERE without as many issues about being charged up. Yes, I even contemplated scenarios when I’d be overseas in a place where I couldn’t buy batteries for a while, but then I’d travel with one month, up to 3 months supply of batteries!

Ah, I’m preaching to the choir. There is some kind of money-motivating reason why nearly NO company is offering battery operated aids anymore. We are being walked down the plank with these rechargeables and tough luck if we face myriad issues and scenarios when we’d be better off with battery operated aids.

This is not horse & buggy vs rocket ship here. This is about safety, peace of mind, longevity, simplicity and even cost.

3 Likes
#196

People who say manufacturers have “abandoned” traditional batteries are bonkers. It’s just counterfactual.

4 Likes
#197

Well said.
I’m 77. I never had issues with wax guards or replacing batteries until I got my Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s two years ago. Both are severe issues for me.

Welcome to the forum.

#198

And counterproductive, IMO, because it discourages buyers from looking for them and contributes to erosion in their market share. Here’s a post from last month detailing traditional battery availability in RIC aids:

https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/phonak-l90-sometimes-red-led-after-charging-what-does-that-mean/81378/24?u=x475aws

Since then there was a post in another thread saying that Starkey and/or Signia, I forget exactly which, had released traditional battery versions of their models cited in the linked thread. And as we know, Phonak is said to be readying a traditional battery version of Lumity RIC.

1 Like
#199

Despite a Phonak rep saying a battery version was in the works back in Sept, my own audi who sold me the 2 pairs of Lumity Life aids has heard absolutely nothing about Phonak’s plan to release a battery-operated Lumity RIC. I guess I’ve become a bit jaded about these rumors cuz I coasted on an Oticon rumor years ago about them coming out with a ConnectClip for TV streaming for the OPN? Nine frustrating months later with NO streamer, and I was lucky to trade them in for Phonak Audeo B-Direct. The TV Connector was the next thing I bought on that same day.

2 Likes
#200

The unitron 312 is already out, per previous mention.

1 Like
#201

I have the P90L 90R. I love the rechargeable battery. I have been wearing HAs since the only ones available were analog. So, I have had a lot of battery experience. I hate them. But to each his own. I have a mobile battery I keep handy to charge any device (including HAs that need to be charged in a place where using an electrical outlet is not very handy. BTW, I’m waiting for the delivery Starkey Genius which will also be rechargeable.

#202

@BeachBum That’s a big shift from Phonak to Starkey!!!

#203

It is a big change. I have trouble understanding speech especially in a crowd. I hoping this will help. If not I will try Oticon next.

1 Like
#204

My apologies for a very late arrival which may have been mentioned:

My Beltone, and others I discovered during my search for a very thorny issue, offers backup-power rechargers.

That is, they’ll go several days’ worth of charging without mains connection. In the case of the Beltone unit, you can get 3 days’ recharges from a recharged base.

That doesn’t address masochists who have their aids in, with high power drains, for 20 hours a day, as to recharge would still involve putting the aids in the charger (30 minutes to fully charge in the case of the Beltones). But I’ve had, in my two years of my Beltone Imagine 17s, only a single instance of running out of juice on an extremely long day, and that was only one ear.

So, this is really about the concern for power failure at the mains. Another hack would be the 10-20kmAH portable batteries used with cell phones; my Beltone unit uses a USB-C input. I have (though I’ve not used it to that end) a 12000mAH brick which has both USB-A and -C ports. The -C is both charge or dispensary port; the -A is power-out only. But that’s just my particular brick. They all do about the same.

So, e.g., if you were away from the grid, that could be your backup - use the battery-powered recharger for a couple of days, and recharge it via your brick (typical US $20-25).

As for myself, for the rest of my life, I’ll never replace my aids with ones using disposable batteries, nor rechargeable replacements. BUT - that is a possibility for the OP; get a rechargeable set (well, two) and a recharger (and maybe a brick for the long-term-away-from-mains), and carry a recharged set with you (instead of packages of disposables)…

Hope that’s useful :relaxed:

L8R

Skip

#205

Ok, thanks for that! I take a size 13 battery tho. Hope springs eternal! :slight_smile:

#206

No, that I doubt for this round. Maybe next one.

2 Likes
#207

I would still be using hearing aids with disposable batteries if I still had the dexterity I used to have. Now days I just can’t manage those tiny batteries. I agree with folks who think the Phonak Lumity devices don’t hold a charge long enough.

5 Likes
#208

There are those of us who don’t have the tactile dexterity we once did and can’t manage those tiny little batteries any longer. For us, rechargeble hearing aids are a godsend…

1 Like
#209

I assume the days of the same aid being made with multiple traditional battery sizes are gone for good.

#210

Yup, pretty easy. I live in the boonies where power failures are frequent. So we have a whole house battery/inverter backup system which results in silent, uninterrupted power for 24 hours for all critical loads when the grid goes down. If I had to pick one single thing I might consider a dire need during a power failure, it would be water pressure. As in, making sure the toilets will flush. :slight_smile: For those of us who provide our own water, we could only wish to make that happen by simply plugging into the nearest vehicle or USB port.

#211

I understand that and have nothing against rechargeable batteries. However, I should be able to choose the type that is best for my lifestyle. I shouldn’t be forced to live in fear that I will not be able to hear if a rechargeable battery does not charge. Unfortunately the hearing aid companies are no longer supporting high quality high technology hearing aids that support disposable batteries. After paying over $5000, for a pair of hearing aids I deserve this choice.

2 Likes
#212

What can I say, it’s an acquired skill. Surprisingly, no one around me notices.