My Scheme for Doubling the Lifespan of ReSound Quattro Li-ion Batteries

Disposable batteries are sooooo boooooring :grin:

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Well, perhaps you won’t like this other Battery University article either then but I think the rightmost column of the table down in the article on charging/discharging Li-ion batteries does a good job of summarizing the kinds of rules I’m following in trying to cheat the battery tax collector on the lifespan of my Quattro rechargeables. The fact that the fifth LED in the app display of battery charge state actually starts flashing when the charge state passes the 80% mark is actually rather handy in following the advice “stay below 80% maximum charge to prolong battery lifespan.” Theoretically, in only charging up to 80%, I’ll still have 24 hours of battery life for my HA’s without streaming (30 hrs at 100% charge x 0.8 = 24 hours at 80% max) or 19 hours of battery life with 9.6 hours of streaming (80% of 24 hours of battery life with 12 hours of streaming if done from 100% charged). Whether this is actually worth doing or whether the HA’s should just be refurbished if the need arises was discussed earlier in the thread but I’m just pursuing it as a game - some people like bridge, some chess, some hunting, fishing, boating, golfing, some watching sports on TV, etc. I like testing first-hand whether the advice of folks like Battery University actually works.
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_charge_when_to_charge_table

I still like to read the entire article, then go to the summary. Most of that exercise is to keep challenging my brain. When I was younger I had almost aphotographic memory and incredible retention from reading. Learning was easy for me, and I only had to study hard on really complex technical subjects. I’ve lost much of that with age, so reading technical info challenges me, and I will spend time cross referencing terms I don’t remember. One of my versions of playing a game.

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I think it’s an accepted idea in neuroscience now that the brain only has a finite capacity to remember things and a lot of that capacity is used up by the time you’re in your twenties or early thirties. I’ve also heard the idea espoused that some memories from youth were once very strong, supported by multiple connections and you keep learning new things as you age by giving up some of the many older connections from older memories to make new connections for new memories. Perhaps centuries ago, when folks didn’t live too long on average, filling up their brains with too much stuff was the least of their worries.

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News from Rechargeable QuattroLand:

Last Wednesday, 10/24/18, I walked out of my audiologist’s office with my HA’s and the Quattro charger case fully charged. Since then, I’ve been only charging the HA’s from the case. I thought maybe, if the case hold 3 complete Quattro charges as it’s supposed to and a charge lasts 30 hours, that maybe I’d go a couple days per charge and use up the charge in the HA’s plus the ~3 charges in the case in a week or so.

It was actually 9 days (counting the day I left the audi office) before I used up the initial charge in my HA’s plus 1 charge in the case, according to the case battery level (2 total charges used). That surprises me a lot! Even if I only average 10 to 12 hours of use per day in the intervening time, 10 hours use is 1/3 a total charge of 30 hours, 12 hour use is 0.4 a total charge. So I should have used 9 x 1/3 to 9 x 0.4 or 3 to 3.6 total charges in 9 days whereas if the charge case indicator is right, I only used ~2 total HA charges. (I’m into math!). I streamed about 1 hour each day, too, but had the Phone Clip+ off almost all the time except during the brief streaming period each day and most of the time had my phone Bluetooth off. I was also in a very quiet home environment most of the time so I wasn’t making the HA’s work very hard. So maybe when new, the Quattro charger case actually holds more than 3 Quattro charges?

If the math and lower-bound estimate of usage is correct, I could easily go another half a week to a week before I need to recharge the case and the Quattro’s. The case is palm-sized, light, and easily portable, as another Quattro user has already pointed out. So with my usage/listening environments, with the case as a backup, I can easily go 1.5 to 2 weeks without needing AC. I’ll see how well that holds up as time passes but it removes a bit of uncertainty that I had going with the rechargeable option.

Yes, the battery life for the aids AND the case is quite impressive.

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Just visited the audi for my first follow-up. From the ReSound SmartFit software, she says that I’ve actually been using my HA’s an AVERAGE of 14 HOURS A DAY. So the rechargeable battery life I’ve been getting on my new Quattro 9 61’s is astounding for that amount of usage! She can also follow my volume changes through the fitting app.

So I got to wondering if I turned on GPS geofencing of Smart 3D program favorites, etc., whether the audi and ReSound would be able to collect a lot of personal data about my life, e.g., when I go to bed, get up, go out, where I like to go, etc. I presume that Google and Microsoft and Facebook are already collecting a bunch of stuff but perhaps HA’s are also contributing to one’s Internet data profile to some extent, too. Perhaps folks like @Volusiano and @pvc have already commented on what personal data that HA fitting software can accumulate but if there’s a thread already somewhere on this, I’d be much obliged to get a link to it.

The OPN recently in the last firmware update got introduced with a new feature called Hearing Fitness. “This tracking technology explores the full potential of advanced analytics.” according to their announcement. You can google it more for more details if you want.

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Starkey Livio hearing aids know when you have fallen and can’t get up;

Starkey launches world’s first hearing aid with integrated sensors and AI

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I believe there’s a “feature” in the latest Android, Pie, called Digital Wellbeing.

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Which one is best? Phonak or Quattro?