@everyone why is it so hard to accept that we are all individuals with individual needs are requirements. Rechargeable aids isn’t a good choice for some individuals plan and simple. They are okay for me now that I am retired. But while I was working Rechargeable aids would have been a disadvantage. I worked as an IT professional that was on the phone sometimes for as long as 36 hours with no breaks. You can’t be on the phone that long without hearing aid batteries dying. At least with a cell phone it will work while charging. Not true of hearing aids.
Give it a break people and concede that fact that until wr find a cure for hearing loss there will be a requirement for disposable batteries.
4 Likes
I hated rechargeable batteries and said so to my dispensing Audi. I asked if they needed to be checked by Phonak. No. He sai
My hearing aids were sent back by my new hearing instrument specialist. They were replaced by Phonak!
My battery life is ow longer. I’m starting to like them better.
Thanks Phonak.
2 Likes
As stated, my iic aids were too small for rechargeable batts & I have 5 years of free batteries included with my aids so it’s working out fine. In general though, I don’t like rechargeable devices anyway.
2 Likes
@sunpadre
my RIC hearing aids have rechargeable batteries. I complained as soon as the HA’s were supplied. I didn’t pick rechargeables.
I asked the dispensing audi if my hearing aids were defective about 3 years ago.
so…I am very grateful that my hearing aids and charger were replaced by Phonak. I used to be a very loud complainer
I apologize. my rechargeable batteries in my warranty hearing aids work so much better that I’m happy. Message to self…find a good person to get my next hearing aids from. Make sure they’re setup right.
1 Like
My own (and currently I only need one) is disposable batteries, I think the NHS considers it easier to just send a set of disposable batteries (free of charge) once or twice a year (or you can buy them, they aren’t expensive) and you to keep a packet in your pocket all the time you’re outside the house.
Rechargeable things can be a pain, like smartwatches and phones which need charging every day.
A watch-out - if your hearing aid does use disposable batteries, and you think a fault is because the battery is dead but this turns out not to be the case, the battery you used will be dead when you get the thing back, though they may put a brand new battery in it after fixing it
1 Like
I’d just add to this - you can’t get my aids in rechargeable due to the power needed - they wouldn’t last the day. I wear mine at least 16 hours a day and the batteries last me around 9-10 days depending how much Bluetooth streaming I do or Roger Mike usage.
3 Likes
I have just “bitten the bullet” and bought new hearing aids. My previous Phonak Audeo V90 aids were 10 years old and I wanted to keep them as a working backup set. I wanted disposable batteries but I could not get them. In the end I bought the new Phonak Audeo Infinio 90 sphere aids. So far the aids are at about 65% battery life after a day at work (6.30 am to 12 midnight and would easily last me the 24 hours if I had a shift when I am up all night. That involves very little streaming while at work and my phone use is only via a shared work phone which is not paired with the aids. I thought I would need to buy a second charger to keep at work but the one provided will charge the aids fully up to three times so I just carry it everywhere in my handbag and can charge the aids when I’m able to at work. I have about three years remaining that I will work before likely retirement so by then I may need to replace the batteries but hopefully it won’t be a critical issue while I’m still working. I guess the charger’s battery will also need replacing about the 3-5 year mark also but this is untested yet.
4 Likes
hi, this is a very interesting topic indeed. It is good to read all the different life situations that folks need their Aids to perform in. Personally , i have been wearing Aids since 2020. I believe my hearing has declined as a result of frequent infections. My first Aids were rechargable and i had them about 4 years. In that time, i had to have them sent in for battery replacement twice. the first time i was without 1 aid for a couple of weeks. (my loss is moderate-severe). the second time , I did not want to be without aids for the time required for the repair. looking back, i did not advocate for myself very well. I should have inquired if loaner aids would be available. Instead, i went the DIY route. I bought a pair from ebay and learned to self program. I realize that having a provider, i could have had better results with programming. But through trial and error My aids are working pretty well for me. So in saying all this, i realize that having replaceable batteries could have saved me all this trouble. But i will say having rechargeables has moved me along the path of advocating for myself and educated myself so i actually know what my needs are. So now i have adapted to having 2 pairs of aids, my daily drivers, and a spare set in case i get a flat tire with my daily aids. So I have never had replaceable battery aids, which would have saved my all the troubles i have had, but i am satisfied where i ended up. I currently have an appointment for a new hearing test and professional programming in july at the local hospital (they deal with Oticon which i have), and plan on at least annual visits to tune up my aids.
1 Like
This choice is linked, really, to how you use your HAs. As a retiree who completely dropped out of the rat race, I take my Phonak Audéos off (return them to their charger) mid-morning for my sweaty prescription run, then again after lunch when I read and doze off next to my pool (sorry if you read this at work)- so they last comfortably through the day even if I also do some Bluetooth streaming in-between (and the TV-streamer at evenings drains even much less energy). But, yes, things may be different for those among you who dance 48h nonstop on techno “music” on amphetamines in their weekends, or lawyer away during a couple of all-nighters…
I think Phonak has listened to complaints here when it significantly increased the battery capacity in their new Sphere/Infinio-line (my next model). With HAs I just do not feel the same “range-anxiety” that an EV would give me. In the past, disposables had this nasty property of dropping out unexpectedly- my recheargables never die on me.
This is probably the future…
4 Likes
They’re both good. As long as you have both you are good.
1 Like