New COSTCO (their own) Batteries

I don’t know why the quote appears twice, but sorry folks.

This bug has been around for months. I even got two emails that you had posted once. I guess the forum programmers are asleep at the switch… I’m avoiding this duplication bug by going advanced instead of using the quick reply.

Re battery life, I don’t see much improvement in Power One over Costco batteries. I do see a significant decrease in battery life when streaming. I get about 5 days if I stream with the mini mic about 4 hours a day.

My right aid runs out of power faster than the left, so I swap batteries daily to even out the battery life.
BTW, the reason for this is that the right aid has to drive about 10 dB more power than the left. The amplifier section has to work harder. The DSP is digital but the amplifier section is analog.

The dings when the battery is deemed too weak for streaming are very annoying. They go on for hours before the batteries die. I am going to see if they can be silenced next time I go to the Audi.

Cheers

I also have started to swap batteries daily as my right dies quicker than left, but given what would seem like the amplification needs given my audiogram, I’d think it’d be reversed.

I agree about the battery warning tones, and will also inquire about perhaps dropping the db on that alert if that is possible - seems like it is designed to make sure that you buy as many batteries as possible!

From your audiogram, I would have to agree. Only low frequency sound needs more power on the left side. However, power used is a function of sound actually experienced and processed. Do you listen to a lot of heavy bass e.g., rock music?

I use to be amazed now just amused…

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I have compared so many hearing aid batteries and have concluded that they are all pretty much the same. The only fair test I could devise - in my opinion - was to use them without ever turning on my streamers, which will drain any battery pretty fast. When I used the streamers a lot, I can’t get more than two days out of a set of batteries.

I also priced them looking at the best prices on the Internet. The most expensive were Power One. The least expensive we’re the Rayovac private label batteries from Costco. The ten cent difference after spending $6,000 on hearing aids seemed unimportant. So…

My decision was based on which battery was easiest to get out of the package and which tab was easiest to get off the batteries. Power One, bought through Amazon, was the choice.

Streaming is where I’ve noticed a difference in batteries. In my experience, the Costco and Rayovac batteries will drop streaming sooner, but continue to power the aids. PowerOne or the ZeniPower batteries I buy on eBay will allow streaming and power the aids longer. In regular use with no streaming, they’re all about equal.

I noticed the exact same thing about the Costco batteries. I’ve switched to Power One, permanently, because even while streaming, they can last for over two hours past the your-batteries-are-dead dings…

And they are so much easier to remove the tabs from!

I’ve had pretty good luck with costco batteries. The one thing that I really don’t like about them is that they have such a short tab that makes them hard to install.

— Updated —

My favorite costco battery feature is the packaging.

Costco batteries are packaged in a push-thru container that keeps the batteries in the container till they are needed. And, the type of plastic the packaging uses, doesn’t dig into my leg when it is in my pocket. The circular battery package tend to open on me and leak batteries all over my picket. The rectangular ones that provide access to all of the batteries when they are opened cause all the batteries to spill out randomly in my pocket.

— Updated —

I place my HA battery package into one of the coin purses that have metel closing bands that open with a squeeze. That way the package stays together. Now that I use the Costco brand batteries, I cut out 3-4 batteries and place this into the coin purse. Carry a few Advil in this purse too.

Just bought some as the card of free batteries I was given by my audi a couple weeks ago were dead.

Gotta love her.

40 for $8.99 out the door.

Mine last about a week.

40/2 = 20 weeks worth. So 8.99/20= 0.45 per week x 52 weeks = $23.37 annual cost.

I guess if you have the really powerful aids they don’t last that long.

But for $23.37 a year I don’t know why anyone even bothers with battery discussions.

It’s like talking about the cost of paper clips or such.

:slight_smile:

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finally someone understands…

Hello all- I’m totally new to hearing aides -have an appointment this coming Sat. at Costco.
So my question is - should I be concerned at all with how long the batteries will last when choosing hearing aides?

It’s definitely a factor you should consider.

Here’s the deal- you put your hearing aids in your ears and you live life, with family, friends, events. And right in the middle of cutting your niece’s birthday cake, your left HA goes dead. This is SUCH an annoyance!!!

My current batteries last about 8 days, which is perfect for me. I change them every Monday morning, it’s part of my routine, and I never end up stuck with a dead hearing aid at something important. If your batteries last 5 or 6 days… it’s not so easy to keep track. In the end, you will make it work, but you will find battery life is a big deal.

NO!

How they fit, are they set up correctly, what are the features, how do they perform, do they need adjustments, how should the different programs be set up, am I understanding speech better, how long until my brain completely adjusts. Those are things to be concerned about, not whether you get 3 days, or 5 days or a week out of a battery.

See froggy above. If you got 3.5 days it would be $47 a year. So all the big differences in battery use mean that batteries will cost somewhere between $23 and $47 a year.

I stash batteries everywhere including my car, so I’m never without batteries and I know about how long they last so I will go ahead and change them if I suspect it is close and I’m going to be in a situation where I don’t want dead batteries to be an issue. I get 3.5 to 4.5 days.

Has anyone bought batteries from Amazon?

Yes Duracell 60 CNT in plastic case. Great.

you could buy your batteries from the folks who pay to keep this forum running

Where are they?