I have the OPNS1 rechargeable and I love them. I am so glad my Audi pushed them at me. I love not have to think about my aids all day, I love not worrying that I am going to be in a church service or meeting, or doctors appointment and my aids either die or start beeping that the battery is dead. I am finding that I am much more likely to stream from one of my devices or TV adapter more often. I am even wearing my aids more hours each day. I am averaging 15 hours a day of wearing my aids with close to 4.5 hours of streaming.
4 Likes
Everyone’s requirements are different. My wife and I travel a lot (or did before you know what), and the 16-hour rechargeable battery life would not be enough for some of our longer airline trips so I held out for the 13A battery model when I bought new Phonak Marvels earlier this year. I had to wait another four months to get them, but to me it was worth it.
3 Likes
My OPNS rechargeable will go over 24 hours, at least for my usage. I too love to travel and I keep a travel bag. I it I have my backup hearing aids with batteries, I have a second charger, or charging station for every device, I carry, and also for my new hearing aids. I also have if needed battery backup power source that can charge all of my devices including my hearing aids.
My wife normally travel with our camp trailer in tow, or if we are visiting family and friends back home we stay with them. We are retired so we do not fly, I am claustrophobic, and being in confined spaces just doesn’t hack it. I have managed one cruise by having a cabin with a balcony. I have only seen my aids go below 40% charge left one time, and that was due to a visit to the Audi for some adjustments. It seems that doing the changes on the Gene2 equipment is a real battery drain.
1 Like
If I only traveled by car, it would be a different consideration. Nevertheless, I like the convenience of always having spare batteries in my pocket and I see no real advantage to rechargeables.
4 Likes
I happened to notice the other day that on page 11 of the ReSound One RIC User Guide, ReSound has a set of warnings about bad things that can happen with Li-ion rechargeables vs. zinc-air batteries. The possibility of both leaking is issued as a dire warning. But it mentions water getting in the battery compartment and the toxicity of loose zinc-air batteries to kids, pets, etc. Also, not leaving the zinc-air batteries in an HA if you wish to store it for more than a few days. So I guess if one just wanted to look comparatively at the NEGATIVES of the two types of batteries, one could review the warnings about each type ReSound feels compelled to make.
1 Like
Consumer Reports had a user survey a while back that listed rechargeability as one of the top features, if not the top feature, the 17,000 plus people it surveyed were looking for in new HA’s. So it’s a consumer-driven demand. Compared to all the other daily care required for HA’s in cleaning them, putting them on for the day, taking them out at night, recharging them is hardly the hassle disposable users like to make it out to be. You do have to worry about the battery lifespan expiring someday and things like extreme heat could kill the Li-ion battery in short order, e.g., leaving your HA’s in a closed-up car in the sun for some reason. But other than that, it frees you from fiddling with small objects and having to worry about keeping a supply on hand. The main reason that I see for this discussion is that disposable users feel “threatened” and feel the need to make a case for continuing disposable battery use. Hopefully the world is big enough for both to coexist. And, yes, if you are someone like an intern or resident who has to work for 30 hours straight with little or no breaks, rechargeables might be impossible to use - which begs the question do you want to be attended in a life-or-death situation for you by someone who has been up, deprived of sleep, for 30 hours straight (we accept that situation and worry about whether the guy/gal is going to be able to recharge their HA batteries!). Crazy world!
P.S. I am a rechargeable HA user but if I had it to do over, I’d probably get a disposable version of my HA brand so that when it’s 107 deg F outside in the Texas summer heat (~42 deg C), I can work outside in my yard as long as I want without fear of cooking my HA’s (ReSound says 104 deg F is the upper temperature limit for the rechargeable HA use - which is pushing the limit - Apple says above 95 deg F is bad for the batteries in their devices). When I’m really old (hopefully) and relatively immobile and a totally indoor type (ever?), then I’ll feel more comfortable with rechargeables. Most people, though, probably don’t feel compelled to be outside when it’s 107 deg F…
1 Like
I understand and if I wasn’t retired and still working the job I was more than likely I would not want the rechargeable. We all have our needs and likes and dislikes.
Battery has some advantages they are easier to care for and dry out. You cans a warm air driers. It also nice to change a dead battery out. Rechargeable are nice they are charge and go. Usually have a better waterproof rating due to not having a battery door. Problem is that once they die they need a charge to get working again. They also need to be dried using an air drier to avoid damage. I have rechargeable for the first time and still like battery better. Good luck.
1 Like
I have the rechargeables and I dry my aids with the Prefectdry Lux, which was recommended by Oticon for my aids and given to me by VA.
I was wondering what your user manual says about working in 107 degree temps?! Sounds like a good recipe for heat stroke or heat exhaustion which could be a much bigger issue than reducing your hearing aid’s battery life.
2 Likes
Not recommending anyone do it. But here’s what makes it not so intolerable for me (but not the HA’s).
I have a very tree-lined yard, at least 70% to 80% shade. So I avoid further heating by direct sunlight.
I wear the following that I got on Amazon (or through Walmart at times) - I have like six sets of the stuff, except for the hat!:
Coolie hat - avoid UV to the face, particular thin, most sensitive skin on nose and ears.
Hanes Wicking White Polyester UPF 50+ T-shirt. White minimizes solar-incident heating and wicking water thru shirt helps cool body with evaporation from surface of shirt (see applied water below).
Hanes Compression Short: Same deal as shirt, skin tight, conducts water away, and the wet fabric against the skin helps cool body from surface evaporation with fabric tight against the skin. Here I went for the gray color to look less like I was wearing my underpants in my backyard if I went with white!
Drenched microfiber cooling towel, worn like a shawl around neck and over shoulders.
If I feel everything’s drying out too much, I go pick up a hose and drench myself, the cooling cloth, shirt, and pants. You’ve probably heard of “swamp coolers” in California. This gives one a swamp cooler effect. I drink plenty of liquids, take salt, go inside if I feel too hot. I can keep myself quite a bit cooler than the air temperature but unfortunately the same strategy doesn’t work on HA’s!
Just like the never-ending dialog on disposable vs. rechargeables, Apple vs. Android for HA’s, etc., there is the to-dry or not-to-dry “controversy.” Perhaps many HA wearers who swear by dryers and the need for them are long-standing HA wearers and had HA’s in the past where the electronics were pretty exposed.
I’ve never seen anything in my Quattro manual for either rechargeables or disposables that recommends using a dryer. I’d wonder if the same is true for the other latest modern HA’s…
How can the OEM’s, which folks on the disposable side of things accuse of being out to make a buck by foisting rechargeables on folks as an excuse to charge more, etc., not want to collect money for selling folks a “necessary” dryer?
I’d also think that once sweat or any other excreted body material gets down to metal-like (corrodible) components, your HA is going to be toast, anyway, if moisture exposure in normal use were a problem. You’d dry it out each night - but that’s only 7 or 8 hours a day or less (because it takes some time to fully dry). The other 16 or 17 hours or more of the day (the great majority of the day), if salt got down near critical components, those components are going to get remoisturized each and every day no matter how much you dry it a few hours of the day and they’d still be corroding continuously on a daily basis. How is being dry ONLY 25% or 33% of the day going to save the day against water damage? (the new physics!)
So I think basically just like water-resistant watches and smartphones, good HA’s these days are made to resist salty liquids from getting at corrodible surfaces. I’ve never dried my right receiver, other than letting it sit in an open case overnight, and it’s still going strong after 2 years of use. I will be sure to remark if it makes it to 5 or 6 years of use (for its rechargeable Li-ion battery in the HA body, too).
My own feeling is the HA OEM’s want you to be very satisfied with your HA’s and they would sell or even give you a dryer if it were truly needed. I think the need for a dryer is basically a leftover from the past when the devices were more poorly made than today.
I was talking only about Starkey. When I talked to Starkey after they replaced both my hearing aids they recommended not to use heat. They suggested a dryer that uses air. Different makers have a different take on it the agreement is as old as rechargeable hearing aids. I like the dryer I use because it offers the ability to charge and dry at the same time.
2 Likes
I have had both. I like my Starkey hearing aids. I got rechargeable hearing aids due to tcoil. I used battery for 40 years before that and had hmy hearing aids on average 10 years. I am only 45. Battery have there advantage and rechargeable has there advantage. The argument is as old as rechargeable hearing aids. In my experience it much easier to maintain battery and to be-able to change a battery out if you need to is a plus. Rechargeable have their advantage and disadvantage. My rechargeable ip rating of 69 according to starkey. But if you pull 24-30 hour shifts like I do it can be a bit challenging to keep them running. One six half dose the other when comes to battery or rechargeable. I really don’t care as long as the hearing aid does it job and allows me to hear. It hard enough to be blind and saver to profoundly hearing impaired. I just glad there is technology to allow me to hear what little I have of that left. Starkey does recommend not using heat. They told it could damage the hearing aids. So I use a fan drying model that allows me to charge and dry at the same time. As customer satisfaction that a give or they would not be in business long. They have different ways to meet that goal. Good luck to you all.
2 Likes
This is a fun topic. They both have there advantage. Rechargeable are great charge and go. They usually have a higher ip rating. That nice to have as it offers better protection of the electronic components. The biggest drawback of rechargeable is they need to recharge to work. Battery you just change the battery and good to go. Rechargeable also requires extra care and varies based on maker. The maker of the hearing aids I use recently switched from using heat to air only. I too found a dryer to allow changing and drying at the same time .
Mostly it boils down to personal preference and stereotypes.
With one exception - depending on the brand, and your need for BT streaming (think 8h or more daily), since brands (phonak) might not hold the charge for whole day. Rough estimate is 10% battery less for each hour of classical BT streaming. Tv connector streaming eats significantly less, let’s say around 3% per hour.
And you probably want them to hold you whole 16h day.
If you don’t BT stream so much on phonak (eg stay under 4h of bt and 4h of tv as they estimated), you’re good.
Those who use btle will eat less battery (eg everyone else except phonak /unitron).
In other words - don’t forget to stress test the HA endurance for your heaviest imaginable (but still realistic for you) use case and you’ll get your definite answer.
3 Likes
I thought I’d really love my OPN rechargeable system. I ran the numbers and at the rate I use disposables, the rechargeables were more expensive, but I always feel bad throwing away dead batteries. It’s a ‘be kind to the earth’ thing with me.
I went with the extra bucks and bought the rechargeables and the charger.
In less than a year, the rechargeable batteries wouldn’t hold a charge all day anymore. I got a second set of rechargeables, and they didn’t last 6 months. I’ve gone back to disposables.
I know that all rechargeable lose their capacity to fully recharge gradually, but I never expected this to be less than a year. I guess you can only do so much in that small disk size.
Now I understand Oticon has solved the problem with a newer model that has this restriction - you can’t put in disposables if your rechargeable batteries die. Please correct me if that’s wrong.
That may be all fine and good until you go on vacation and can’t find a place to recharge. Without disposables as a backup, a rechargeable system does me no good.
My disposables last 4 and a fraction days. So I change them every 4 and never have a dead battery.
It saddens me a bit, because I really wanted to eliminate disposing of spent batteries.
Bob
1 Like
I think it’s important to say what rechargeable system you were using. There are various Li-ion systems and then there’s stuff like ZPower, which most people found unsatisfactory.
So it’s not right to apply a general label to rechargeables as a whole that really only applies to a special bad type of implementation of a non-Li-ion type of battery (I think ZPower are a form of zinc-air battery). So some bad engineers tried to make disposable battery chemistry “rechargeable” and screwed up. That doesn’t make the rechargeable category bad. It makes the OPN choice bad - they screwed up whereas Phonak and ReSound were smart enough to use Li-ion technology. Planning on giving up your smartphone or laptop because they use this terrible, undependable, unreplaceable inferior Li-ion rechargeable technology?
That’s the ultimate joke: all the folks dissing rechargeable technology here while depending on it for their smartphones, their tablets (iPads or otherwise), and light laptop computers, etc. Yeah! It’s a terrible technology that you’d never try to build a multi-billion (trillion?) dollar industry around. Who’d ever want to use it? Let’s use the more reliable zinc-air disposable batteries for our phones, tablets, and laptops and change all those batteries out every few days! It will help create a lot of jobs! (hauling away dead batteries).
1 Like
Whatever the audio gave me. Batteries left in the hearing aids while I put the aids in the charger overnight.
Bob
If you could remove the batteries and also use disposables, they were the ZPower. If the battery was sealed in the hearing aid, then it’s lithium ion.