#1

I’m a new hearing aid user. Decided to go with ReSound Preza rechargeable after trying a few different models during my visit at Costco. Got them this past Sunday, and I’ve adjusted to them pretty well. Been wearing them all day and other than a bit of echo when I talk, which is bothering me less and less as I get used to things. Performance wise I’m pretty happy with them.

What I’m not no sure about is the battery life. They are fully recharged every morning before I put them in my ears. I’ve timed it the past couple of days and the low battery signal seem to come on at around 14 hour mark for the left side unit. The right side unit probably could go another hour or two but I’ve not waited long enough to know for certain. I’m not streaming.

Is this expected, or do folks think I have defective batteries? I was under the impression that without streaming they should last at least 20 to 24 hours if not longer.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

#2

I’ve used the ReSound Quattro 961 rechargeables since late October, 2018. I did find those give me about 6 hours of battery life per 20% charge increment - so, yes, a fully-charged Quattro with new batteries can go about 30 hours on a charge. Discharge, though, can depend on your hearing loss, how powerful a receiver you’re using, how noisy your sound environment is, how much you stream, etc.

I do find it a ridiculous omission that there is no long-term battery health/battery lifespan indicator built into the Smart 3D app to track battery performance over time, especially when the HA’s and app track all sorts of other stuff such as what program, what volume you’re using, whether you’re streaming or not, etc. The Apple iPhone has great built-in battery lifespan monitoring. Why not a much more expensive product from an HA OEM?!

Since I’m a 74-yearold retiree at home most of the time, I actually follow a charging scheme where I mainly keep my % HA charge between about 40% to 60% charge (~every 6 hours I take a break and recharge for ~25 min). The idea is to prolong the lifespan of the batteries. I do the same with the charging unit. Whatever number of charging elements there are in an LED array (5 for the HA’s, 3 for the charging unit itself), I charge the HA’s up until the 4th HA LED indicator on the charging case just starts flashing (means % charge has just passed 60% and is working on completing the 60%->80% range or until the 3rd and last charging case LED indicator light for the case battery starts flashing (means case has just passed 67% and is working on 68%->100%). The amount of time it takes is very reproducilbe. So one can just say, “Alexa, set a Hearing charging timer for 25 minutes.” Twenty five minutes later, Alexa announces, “Your Hearing charging timer is done.”

So my original right hearing aid is still going strong 1.3 years later, still close to 6 hours on a 20% charge. My left HA has been replaced and I don’t think ReSound gave me a replacement HA with a very good battery. Even when the replacement was “brand new,” it only got about 5.5 hours per 20% charge. But only 14 hours for a full charge doesn’t seem right. But ReSound needs to figure out a way to put a battery health/battery lifespan indicator in its Smart 3D app (or otherwise it’s just a plain dumb app, not so smart).

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#3

Even when I stream a couple of hours a day I still have at least 60% battery left after 16 hours of use.

#4

The main “key to battery life” would be how hard they have to work to correct for your level of hearing loss.

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#5

First time HA consumer and I went with the rechargeable Resound Preza aids as well. I love the tech and certainly enjoy hearing again. I, too, am seeing limited up time on my aids per charge. First thing I’ve noticed is over night charging only yields four dots of five on the charge indicator. My first day of use I had to recharge at the twelve hour mark with four hours streaming. I limited streaming today to a hour and I’m nearly out of charge according to the app at the fourteen hour mark. I’m trying to figure out why I’m not getting a full charge and why I’m not getting anywhere near that thirty hour up time.

Two variables for your consideration. Firstly, I’m BLE connecting to an Android phone and not an iPhone. Secondly, I am needing between sixty and seventy db boost for my prescription.

It is a wonderful thing to be able to hear well again. It’s not so good to not make it through the day on a charge. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most welcome. I’m brand new to your community here as well as the HA community and I don’t know what to expect or direction I should take.

Thanks for listening and hello. It’s a pleasure to join your forum.

#6

Welcome to the forum.

My first thought would be to stop looking at the app’s battery indication. They are known to be flaky on many apps. You might have lots of battery left when the app says you don’t. But they could be correct. If so, those aids have a great warranty.

#7

Thanks for the welcome and reply. The app seemed to be pretty accurate. I noticed it was showing just one dot or 1/5 battery left in my right HA and it was shortly after that the tones indicating I needed to charge were heard.

Over night charging again brought both HAs up to four dots and not five. I removed and replaced them in the charger and they started flashing… indicating they were charging again.
When I checked them after charging for ten to fifteen additional minutes they showed all five dots of charge. I don’t know why they quit charging through the night, However, with a full charge, I did make it though the day with moderate streaming. I want better but I can live with the results of today. Especially if I can figure out why the charger is shutting off before a full charge is achieved.

#8

I don’t get why people are buying into this “rechargeable” technology, you can have a whole months worth of “power” in your pocket and be up and running in less then 30sec,that’s all it takes to put a new battery in, you don’t have to go without your HAs in your ears for 10 or 15min or whatever while you wait for them to charge up, and streaming all day long, for as long as you want, without worries of “not having enough charge” to last your day.

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#9

Being a first time consumer and living in the age of recharging phone, watch, earbuds, etc it seemed to be the way to go. I’m not saying that I made a wise choice, I’m simply trying to deal with that choice.

#10

Hi there, hey I wasn’t knocking you personally or anything, just trying to find a common reason for people getting the rechargeable over the battery models, sure I understand the “rechargeable” themes but I’ve never had much success with any of them.
But anyways good luck and keep everyone posted on your journey to better hearing.

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#11

I know two people who have manual dexterity issues, almost impossible for them to change batteries themselves. Rechargeable has been a wonderful success for them.

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#12

When I had hearing aids with 312 batteries, I was changing batteries every 3-5 days. That’s rare enough that I didn’t want to carry around batteries in my pocket (I already have keys on a belt clip, pockets are “taken”), but when you need 'em you need 'em. So, I had stashes of batteries everywhere. Home. Work. Briefcase (meetings). Backpack/fannypack (hikes). Car. Wife’s car. Of course, I would always keep two separate packs in each stash, after getting an occasional bad pack.

So… if there’s an option for a rechargeable that can last more than a full day, I’ll take a good hard look.

My current solution was to buy the KS8-13T, not for the telecoil (still haven’t run across a situation where I’ve used it), but because it has a size 13 battery that lasts over a week. I now change my batteries once a week on a schedule, and don’t bother with the extra stashes. I would never willingly go back to having to carry around batteries.

#13

I get around 6-7 days on my 312, depending on how many calls I make.

Only one pack is needed at any one time, I guess if your a little paranoid about it you’ll have stashes all over the place, but just one pack for me.

For me if would have to be 5 to 7 days before I’d bother. Having to charge every night and having to carry a recharge pack when out hiking and away from the grid… it’s just a hassle. Plus I don’t like the fact you have no hearing while they are doing a quick 10 or 15min charge.

It’s just one pack in your pocket wherever you go, just like having coins in your pocket, you just don’t notice it, no need to have stashes all over the place ; )

Excellent choice the size 13 battery is definitely the way to go.

#14

Sorry if I came off like I was offended. As the new guy on the block, I thought I was buying the latest and greatest tech. Recharging does have some benefits but I sure don’t know if they compare to replacement battery models. I did a lot of research looking for an Android compatible model with good reviews and the like. But I’ll be honest, I blew right by the rechargeable equation. I thought it was the new tech and figured it was superior. I should have done more research to have made a more informed purchase. I’m not saying I have regrets. Having never owned a replaceable battery model I can’t compare.

#15

Sure no worries, at the end of the day what matters most is that they are doing what they are supposed to do, that is giving you better hearing/speech recognition, rechargeable or replacement is always gonna have it’s die-hard user!
Remember both use exactly the same chip/processor circuit so your not missing anything in that respect.

#16

You literally asked why anyone would consider rechargeables. I answered and gave my reasons. These reasons apparently don’t apply to you, which I respect. But please recognize that different people have different priorities and use cases, so it is perfectly reasonable for others to come to a different conclusion.

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#17

Of course they do, I just didn’t arrive at the same conclusions.

Absolutely, this is exactly what I’m doing. I understand your case is different from others.

Cheers

#18

I just stopped by Costco to have have ReSound Preza sent back for service. Apparently there is a known firmware issue that causes the rechargeables to drain battery. Hope that fixes the problem since I like the aids otherwise. They gave me a pair of KS9s as a loaner and they are pretty nice as well, but for me at least, they seem to have a bit more feedback.

A

#19

I love the Preza HAs as well. I have found that over night charging shuts off before I’m fully charged. The work a round is to remove the HAs and replace them in the charger. They start charging again and within ten minutes or so they are charged to the max. I don’t know if my HAs are suffering the firmware problems that you are experiencing. Once I have a full charge I easily make it though the day. I have an appointment a week from today and I’ll discuss the issue with my audi. I sure hope I don’t have to send them in. Now that I have them, I can’t imagine being without. Best of luck with your aids and I hope you get them back soon.

#20

Just thought I’d update everyone. Got the replacements for the unit I returned and the problem has been fixed. Turns out the batteries were defective as well. No issues anymore. Haven’t stressed them yet, but my guess is that they should go at least 25 hours now, if not more, without streaming.

Now I just need to get an Android 10 phone so I can start streaming.

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