Years ago, I’d get about 4 days max with 312s; now I’m 3/4 thru the 6th day before I get the low battery warning.
By contrast, the size 13 batteries in my old Marvels would last exactly as long as my current Lumity Lifes get with 312s. So if Phonak came out with a size 13 battery Lumity Life it really would be interesting to see how long it goes. What if lasted 8 days with my streaming and normal usage?
Well, whatever, it’s already GAME OVER for me and rechargeables. I’ll just stick with older technology if need be for the simplicity, convenience and DAYS of battery power with these disposables.
Rechargeable are for people that have difficulty changing battery and for people that change aid every three years. It is a battery issue plus trips can be an issue if your charger is not handy
Funny enough Ruth, I don’t take my hearing aids off when getting my hair cut, as chatting away with the hairdresser is part of the pleasure, if I take my aids out, I hear absolutely zilch, I just unhook them from the ear, and let them dangle on the tubing, this probably looks absolutely ridiculous to the other customers… But I don’t care
There will be technologies that rely on rechargeable batteries because of the higher power/voltage. They will likely come out first because of the time it takes to figure out how to make them work with a traditional battery, or they might come out only in rechargeable devices. I don’t expect traditional batteries to ever go away, but anticipate users here being angry that traditional battery users are being oppressed or whatever because they don’t get access, or don’t get first access, to certain technologies. But it’s not a conspiracy, it’s an engineering problem. People will have to weigh the pros and cons just as they do with CIC vs RIC, etc. Choosing to stay with older tech, or to wait a few years for further development is a perfectly valid and understandable choice.
I am thinking @Neville, the next big thing in rechargeable hearing aid batteries will be a solid state version, already under development in Japan for the EV Car industry, these are high density batteries, so they hold a much larger capacity, with allegedly much better longevity…Cheers Kev
Nah, I disagree. Its personal preference. As a young-ish 50 year old I don’t have any problem changing batteries, have to keep my HAs more than 5 years if I want any insurance coverage and I travel a lot, but for my lifestyle I much prefer rechargeables. I know and respect the fact that they are not for everyone, but they are also not just for older people who have dexterity issues.
I also don’t think disposable batteries will disappear from the shelves anytime soon either though!
Oh, I should mention that the other day I saw one of those amazon prime Rivian vehicles on fire in my neighborhood. It was quickly towed away.
Last year I got on a bus here in queens and as we were going along an avenue we passed an electric bus that was on fire. As we were alone on oure bus I asked the driver what he thought of electric buses. He told me they are a scam. He said they had already had more than a 1000 of them catch fire. But they keep it out of the news. The batteries are dangerous.
My Philips rechargables one battery stopped taking a charge and it was three years old and out of warranty (Costco does not service out warranty HAs and Philips USA only services HAs returned by Costco
Costco will service out of warranty hearing aids as long as the aids are not so old that the manufacturer will no longer service them. When out of warranty there is a flat fee for repair, I think currently $135. If you are sure it is just a battery issue and you have a recent Philips model with the battery door, you can order a Z22A battery online and change it yourself. After replacing the battery, put the aids in the charger as sometimes they will not turn on until that step is done.
wow - I have never heard that Costco will not service out of warranty HAs. My audi can change the batteries in mine in her office, and she has assured me that she will be able to get the batteries for at least several years after my warranty ends (as that was one of my concerns). As I said I know there are good reasons for some people not to go with rechargeables, I was just pointing out that many people other than those with dexterity issues also like them.
I will try the buy your on battery my local Costco said they would not send it to Philips and then Philips would not replace the battery unless I got Costco to send it. They do have a battery door but but it needs a special tool to open it - not like the disposable battery door.
You can change the rechargeable battery without Costco’s help. Ask them for a pin tool to change the receivers. They will usually give that to you or perhaps you already have one. That pin tool can open the rechargeable battery door on the Philips. There are numerous posts about this, mostly for Oticon aids which use a similar design, e.g.,
I wonder whether Costco has a policy to not open up hearing aids in-store. I’ve seen some not so great ideas applied in an effort to help me and I could see them not wanting to be responsible for breaking the aids versus other parts. Costco also can’t order all parts, e.g., Grip Tips. Z22A batteries are possibly also not an item they can order.
You might try calling to get prices from some local audiologists as some have good pricing on the batteries and might pop it in for free as it takes very little time.
Yipes! I’d be afraid of the stylist SNIPPING right through the tubes! It’s a wonder I haven’t had my wires snipped already. Even tho I warn the stylists that I have these SOX on my aids - and the aids cost me $6800! - it seems they are oblivious to slappin’ that hair dye ALL OVER the place. I finally bought a couple pairs of BROWN sox cuz they’d end up that color after one trip to the stylist.
Like you, it seems the chatter is never ending. I’d be just as happy if a robot painted my hair so I could take my aids out and not worry about them. But the endless questions always arise: “What side do you part your hair on?” “Do you want highlights?” “What are we doing with the haircut today?” AUGH. I have to be able to hear them, but they usually ask the question standing behind me, and for some reason, like to swivel my chair to face the person in a chair next to me while my hair is being blow-dried. The questions CONTINUE over the roar of the blow dryer without even a mirror to lip-read them.
TBVH @1Bluejay, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if the hairdresser inadvertently split my tubing, it takes me approximately 2 minutes to change tubing per aid, I probably have it down to a fine art nowadays, once you have done it several hundred times, it was part of my job at one time, renewing folks tubing, when I worked for Deaf Services… Dye on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish, and you ladies seem to love the stuff, personally I can’t see the attraction, but hay ho, each to their own I could envisage getting your hair dyed, may indeed be problematic, and you would most likely, want to remove your aids… Most of us guys, go as nature intended, we just want our hair cut, and that’s our wack, mind you, up until I was around 40, my hair was long, really long, it grew at a prestigious rate, it probably touched my hips? Now it’s pure white, and kept short, long hair, is a lot of hard work, it’s been years since I have even brushed my hair! And yeah, I wash it every day, but I never brush it, tis strange how lifetime habits change… You take care, Cheers Kev
