Does anyone know the cost of replacing rechargeable batteries for the various brands, or how often they’ll need replacing. I’ve heard every 4-6 years. Also that all companies will require an off site servicing to replace the batteries except Oticon.
Per posts by various HCP’s on your own main site:
One post cites a cost of $249 per aid. I seem to remember when I got my HA’s my audi made me sign a piece of paper saying that if I needed a Quattro repaired or replaced and it wasn’t covered by the warranty for some reason(I think it was to cover what happened if I exhausted my one “no questions asked” replacement per ear for loss or damage during the warranty period), it was going to cost me $300 per aid and something like $200 of that would go to ReSound and $100 would go to her (my memory may be faulty - that was in 2018).
Another site, in a post by an audi who’s worked 8 years at a VA, says battery replacement for out of warranty rechargeables should cost $150 to $200 per aid. He cites letting an HA sit around at 0% charge as a cause of premature battery failure and for that reason recommends recharging every night to 100% to be sure you don’t exhaust the battery and fail to recharge in a timely fashion:
Rechargeable Hearing Aid Battery Draining Too Fast – Hearing Insider
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Oticon’s new More models are only available as the rechargable version (at least for RITEs and BTEs). That may be signaling rechargable hearing are a new trend? But ($300 to $500) is far too high for replacing a pair of lithium-ion batteries in hearing aids.
Oticon’s lithium-ion batteries can be replaced by your audiologist, and I’m pretty sure that if my audiologist can do some pin pushing to replace the lithium-ion batteries then I can do the same pin pushing and replace my own lithium-ion batteries.
So my future question is where and for how much can I purchase the lithium-ion batteries? I don’t expect an answer soon. Meanwhile don’t let your lithium-ion batteries deteriorate by not charging them.
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Your quote regarding cost to replace a pair of rechargeable lithium-on batteries make one wonder why disposable batteries are going the way of the dodo bird. You know when rechargeable batteries first came out in 2015 (estimate) the standard line from Audi’s was, “think about it all the money you’ll save no longer having to buy disposable battery again”. Well I can’t remember what disposable batteries cost back in 2015, yet today if you buy online the cost is peanuts when ordering in volume. Like 60 batteries for under $20. Now I don’t do a massive amount of streaming, nor phone calls but I can tell you, sixty hearing aid batteries last a long time. Six months plus and I bet you can a years supply for under $35.
Regarding replacement - I think that should be totally free under warranty and I’m taking a three year warranty. But I have no idea the life span or a rechargeable battery. In any case the high replacement cost, along with charge to physically remove/install new battery could actually come close to 1/4 cost of the aid itself. Ain’t that nice. Then you throw in an additional $250 for replacing RITE every two - two and a half years and bingo we are climbing up to $800 - $900 for all these goodies.
Yea there are pros and cons with disposable and recharge but flat out going the “disposable battery route” is way, way cheaper during the life of someone’s hearing aid. Certainly not environmental friendly but cost effective.
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I have a parallel thread going on with a group of audiologists right now and it seems like most are recommending sending the hearing aids away at the end of the warranty to get a new pair of rechargeable batteries. So, if you follow that plan, I think it’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever pay for replacements. But, just make sure your audiologist doesn’t forget 
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I doubt disposable batteries are as much of an environment problem as other stuff, e.g., just plain old plastic. But as we fill up spaceship earth with people, consumption, and waste, just like the astronauts traveling on ISS, humans are going to have to learn to live within limits in a sustainable way at some point. If people get into a “go green” mentality people may favor something that appears to be more limited consumption even if it doesn’t make that much of a difference relative to other realities just because it makes them feel good about what they’re doing.
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I haven’t had to change an Oticon yet, but they want you to change them when the percentage gets down to a certain number (80% I think) which I think they said would be like 2 years. It’s great you can change it in the office, but that’s really not long enough. I’m not sure if they improved this with the newest platform, but when they did the training for OPN S and said that (2 years versus 6 years), I was pretty reluctant to fit them personally.
This was posted by an audiologist in another forum
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Posting this link, though its biased towards rechargeable most likely because the writer represents aids that use rechargeable batteries. Article says more aids use disposable batteries vs recharge which is incorrect and say recharged batteries can last 30 hours (which seems high to me). Article does not mention the “importance” to dry aids at night, especially if aids have been in high humidity. And I know I can get three years worth of disposable batteries for under $100, not $300.
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Well, my Sound World Solutions Companion hearing aids are not a major brand. The cost of replacing the battery is $50. I have four of the aids and usually switch them at 8 PM or so when I get a low battery warning. I have had one battery replaced while using these aids for about five years now.
Most, if not all rechargeable aids are sealed, and not waterproof, but water resistant The Oticon OPN S1R has an IP rating of 68, meaning it can also withstand water exposure from daily activities or even more adventurous activities such as hiking or exercise in humid environments.
and if the hearing aid is waterproof but there is still a risk of moisture resulting from condensation inside. Most often when going from a hot environment to a cold room. A dryer is still needed.
The fact that the appliance is waterproof may be bad because the appliance does not have holes for ventilation, to expel hot air from inside.
Maybe hearing aid manufacturers have somehow solved this to reduce the risk of condensation but that is more my amateur opinion.
If air can’t go from inside to outside, maybe the manufacturers are smart enough to make such sealed aids in room with very dry air - then there could be no humidity to condense inside when going to a very cold place. Being old with greatly thinning hair, I usually wear a pullover cap just to keep my head warm when going outside in the winter and if very cold, a down parka hood over my capped head to boot. So my HA’s usually stay pretty warm under all that clothing, lodged between ear lobes and the side of my head.
I currently have Oticon Opn S1 MiniRITE R aids. One of the batteries as been replaced already and this is after a year(it was very easy though as all I had to do was get an appointment at the Audiologist and the battery was changed at the office. Not sure of the cost as I paid for the aids and the servicing ‘all in’ up front for a 4 year deal.
With RITE type of HAs, I would think the benefits of using a dryer would apply as much to the receivers as it does to the HA itself. Doesn’t the IP68 rating apply only to the HA body? Due to moisture, I wonder what the failure rate is for HA bodies vs. the failure rate for receivers?
My understanding is that receivers fail much more often than the body, presumably related to the harsh environment. If one is buying a new hearing aid with a 3 year warranty, paying for replacements isn’t likely to be an issue unless one plans on keeping hearing aid 6 years plus. Most allow you to send the hearing aid back to manufacturer near end of warranty to be replaced by new hearing aid. If you use a credit card with extended warranty of 1-2 years, you can increase the time that somebody else will pay for repairs. With hearing aids frequently getting new features, I think most will replace every 3-5 years.
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The high price of lithium-on batteries replacement is no different from printer ink cartridges. Printers are cheap but the ink cartridges are costly.
Disposable batteries must be collected and recycled in Canada. They are a source of pollution otherwise. Green is not a fad. It’s a way of saving the planet.
I spend about $80 a year on disposables. Rechargeable batteries will be more convenient for sure.
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The planet will persist, but it’s we humans that may perish if we’re not careful
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Received my Oticon More rechargeable today and asked a few questions about the battery replacement cost. She said under warranty it’s free, close to end of warranty she will send them back to replace them with new battery and out of warranty it will cost me $250 per aid. $500 to replace the 2 battery and she cant replace them in the clinic they need to send them back to manufacturer. Hoping one day I can find this battery online and install them myself, instead of paying the $500.
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