Oticon rechargable battery lifespan

Hearing Aid Batteries
#1

Friends: Once enough time has passed to get a good look at the early reviews, I will be getting Oticon Real 1 to replace 312 battery Opn S1s. I’ve read enough on the More versions to know the daily use figures (~16 hours) don’t seem to be an issue for me. My primary questions would be: what is the general lifespan of the replaceable lithium-ion rechargable batteries? What’s the warranty period? What’s the cost?

I’m retired and pretty much a full-time caregiver so my days of traveling the world and the US are largely over. I’ve been using 312s for years, but briefly used the rechargable Opn, loved it and ditched it only because the 10mm width caused me external ear pain at the end of the day. The new More and Real units are sufficiently narrow (6mm rechargable/7mm 312 battery) that I don’t think that would be an issue with the rechargeables.

I don’t do much streaming, though I have become quite reliant on having Bluetooth on all the time for phone calls. I abhor holding a cell phone to my ear! (Lazy so-and-so.)

So, to my questions: What’s the lifespan, warranty period and replacement cost of the rechargable batteries?

Thanks in advance.

Eliot

#2

For the past three weeks I have been using Oticon More 1. Even though I do a lot of streaming I usually have between 20 and 30 percent left at the end of the day.

In another 3 weeks I hope to replace them with Real 1. I tried last week but one Real aid was defective. I would guess it did not charge properly.

#3

Should be free under warranty. The batteries are at least double-priced on EBay at this current time.

Oh, replacing the batteries requires a procedure that includes Reset Battery Statistics.

#4

What I was trying to get at was not the length of time in a day the battery has a usable charge but rather how long (months/years) does a battery last before you have to get it replaced.

I apologize for not being entirely clear and wandering off into my daily use pattern.

#5

Ok I thought you wanted both.

#6

I have the OPN S1 rechargeable. I had my batteries replaced a few months back as the left one was down at least 30% from the right at the end of the day. Got them replaced under warranty at just under 3 years of use. Do not know if this is the same battery that is used in the MORE or REAL though. Also they were changed right in the office and did not have to be sent away.

Shaun

#7

Remember that, at least with More and Real, the batteries can be replaced by the audiologist. They need to tell their programming software afterward though.

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#8

Thanks for that additional data point. I think I also saw one could get remote adjustments to the programming as well. These devices are getting mighty fancy!

#9

Unfortunately, in the US, hearing provider licensing varies by state so they will not no remote support across state lines.

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#10

fortunately for me, my audiology shop is about 3 miles from my house, and if I’m in Timbuktu or Ouagadougou I’m not volunteering where I’m calling from. :slight_smile:

#11

My audiologist in North Carolina knows I am in Virginia. My address is needed for credit card verification purposes.

#12

One thing you can do to prolong the life of the batteries is to follow tips such as in this article:

I try to keep charge between 50-85% for my phone, PHEV car and aids. For the aids, at night I turn them off, run them through my PerfectDry Lux dryer for 1/2 hour, then put in the charger but wait to plug it in until morning. If I were working, I’d use a timer on the charger. This way they do not sit t 100% for several hours each day.

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#13

good stuff. thanks for the info.

#14

Since Oticon is now shipping their aids with the SmartCharger, I have heard no information on prolonging the charger battery life. My best guess is, since the charger battery is good for 3 full charges and we never totally exhaust the HA batteries, we should likely charge off the charger battery 2 or 3 times and then plug in the charger to recharge its battery, I think the charger battery is also Li-Ion but have not been able to confirm that.

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#16

Thanks.

Anything on how to best prolong the battery? I ask because I know they do not like to either stay at a full charge or be unused for long periods of time.

In other applications they tend to like to be used. One application moves between 20% and 80% of charge and appears to work well for a long time.

#17

Below is Oticon’s recommendation for long-term storage (more than 14 days). But pay equal attention to their little “Note” below that for the 12-month thing.

This implies that if you don’t use the SmartCharger, there’s still a parasitic drain on its battery. So I think it’s best to use it regularly and not just leave it unused for a long time, in the case that you also have the regular charger and opt to use the regular charger as your main charger and relegate the SmartCharger to only when you travel.

But I wouldn’t just keep it plugged in all the times either, because this will keep it at 100% state all the times, which is not good for the battery. I would use it for 3 full charges then plug it in to charge it up fully, then unplug and use it for 3 more full charges, and so on.

Technically it’s supposed to be good for 3 full charges, but I’ve read reports from users that they can squeeze maybe 5 charges out of it. So if you recharge it after every 3 full charges, you probably won’t manage to fully discharge it, so that takes care of the bottom end (don’t want it to be in a fully discharged state for too long). If you really want to take care of the top end (not to leave it in a fully charge state for too long), then try to time the full charge such that it’s done just before your end of the day so that you can drain it partially with your first full charge cycle on the hearing aids.

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#18

That was my thought but I had not seen that anywhere before

#19

My third set of More batteries is only 19 months old, but is giving a low battery warning at the 16 hour mark. This is not enough to get me through my day. (I do zero streaming.)

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#20

How long did the first sets last? I assume you just had the batteries replaced. I believe you had a failed charger replaced recently. Is it possible it contributed to short battery life?

In Canada are batteries covered under Oticon warranty? I believe a provider from Australia said they are not covered there. The International Warranty in the user guide was not written to cover rechargeable aids.