Should I be skeptical about rechargeable hearing aid?

Hearing Aids
#351

The question to me then is how exactly is the service is determined - are providers explicitly asking for new batteries (or even new HA) or is it that at 3 years it’s a given that the battery has declined to the point of needing replacement per the manufacturer diagnostics?

This conversation over the last few days about the lifetime of the rechargeable battery would make me hesitant to suggest a rechargeable for someone with limited income and no/minimal hearing aid insurance that might need their hearing aid to last 10 years or more with good care (that was me as a college student in my 20’s). Knowing you need to get your hearing aid refurbished at year 3 to get the best lifetime out of your hearing aids is another hurdle. This is not obvious in any of the literature I have seen and if you don’t see your audiologist or fitter every year it could easily be missed until the battery and aid are out of warranty.

#352

@Heather_R That is entirely my gripe. Some of us buy used HA’s at a few years old and expect them to last until 10 years old. Even if the original owner has been diligent and got replacement batteries at 3 years it’s still a push to expect them to last for another 6 years. (That’s why I will be learning to do my own replacement)
On your other point. If your provider returns your HA’s just before the end of the warranty because you stated that the batteries only last 4 hours (or whatever) I don’t believe that the manufacturer will spend time and money on diagnosis. They will simply take the simplest way of honouring the warranty which will be either new batteries or complete new electronics.
BTW To get warranty service you need to state the problem. So state that the batteries are done.

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#353

Battery question for Oticon Genie users: What information does the HIS/Audi have on the battery when connected up to the Genie system? does it give them info battery health, cycle count, max charge level etc?

I ask because like others, my HIS told me when I purchased aids they will replace batteries before the end of warranty period. Do they have information that tells Oticon that the battery needs replacing or are they just going on what we say regarding battery life. Or are they just automatically replacing batteries at the 3 yr point given 3 yrs is a pretty normal lifetime for an everyday Li ion battery.

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#354

Way back I remember writing that the battery choice thing could be summed up fairly in a single paragraph. The exploration of the scenarios ad nauseam has me thinking of a grocery scene.

I want some ripe bananas.
**** Sorry, only green ones, they’ll be ripe in a couple days.
What if I’m called away before then because my granny died and they won’t let me take the bananas on the plane?

:slight_smile: <----- Do I really need that? Boy howdy yes!

And to save time (not you jeffrey), yes, I realize bananas won’t work as hearing aids.

#355

This is done under warranty so is free. I’m expecting another three years from the new batteries. Then I would have to pay for new batteries at year 6. Meanwhile I won’t have spent a penny on disposable batteries. So it’[s a wash over time.

#356

Imagine that, we are all individuals with different priorities :blush: I haven’t seen your paragraph but it sounds like it reflects what you prioritize and that’s as it should be. Others may have different priorities and that’s why discussions like this can be useful to those who are new to this decision.

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#357

I believe this is likely, because it’s a button battery ( easily available and replaceable by the clinic, or yourself if you wanted, so the clinic could make the call on battery replacement, so long as Oticon (Demant) agreed, other wise $75 cost to you.

#358

Below is the page on the Oticon Genie 2 for batteries. Apparently it will show you the current battery levels and the battery health. If you click on the ? question mark about replacing the battery, it’ll take you to the online battery replacement page, also shown here. Finally, the last screenshot is the Replacement History tab, showing the information that you recorded in the Battery Replacement and Reset tab to the left of it. Apparently, the date of battery change and instrument serial number is whatever hearing aids you have connected to Genie 2 when you record the new battery data.

I don’t have the hearing aids connected to Genie 2 when I pulled up this page, so the battery level and battery health information in the screenshot below is not displayed. But if you have the aids connected, the information should be displayed for you to see.

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#359

Thanks that is interesting. I think it ‘possible’ that Oticon may acquire sufficient data and confidence in the battery health monitoring and adopt a policy that a warranty battery replacement requires battery health indicator to be poor.

My Mores are 26 months old, and battery remains fine (16hr a day with 2-3 hr streaming) though they have started to deteriorate (Charge level at end of day is now very low, where it was ~30%). So at end of warranty period in 10 months I expect the batteries will be marginal, and based on what I was told when I bought them I expect a battery change prior to warranty expiration.

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#360

Exactly. this is what I’ve been assured as well, although I was also given the option to send them in at two years if I felt I needed it, and them again at three years, all under warranty. So far my batteries are holding up remarkably well. It’s been about a year and eight months.

#361

I have had my current Starkeys for 2 years this month. The left one is just starting to show possible battery degradation. It gets about 16 hours now, which was the rated time, but it is down from when new. I too was assured by my AuD that Starkey would put in new batteries at the end of 3 years. Time will tell.

#362

I hope so, US$75 x2 batteries is getting expensive. That said the picture Tenkan posted shows the battery is just 20 mAh - it’s very impressive they can get 3 years x 365 days x ~16 hrs out of them, that is some mighty impressive chip power management (And battery management). As a comparison the current iPhones have batteries with 3-4,000 mAh capacities.

#363

I pay $30.00 for two boxes of 10 packs of batteries, or 60 batteries each of 675s, and 312s for the CROS unit (now Oticon). Half of which lasts me for 6 months. So, depending on use I only have to spend $30.00 every 8-12 months. Basically $15 each.

I sure don’t regret my decision sticking with real disposable battery hearing aids. :grinning: :grinning: :grinning:

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#364

I’m not sure what you mean about checking the charging level on your batteries. I didn’t realize you could do that with batteries. I have Phonak Marvels. I only seem to get 3 days out of the batteries. I do use the Bluetooth for the phone and tv but don’t use either that much.

#365

If you use a hearing aid app, or if your aids are MFi and paired to an iPhone (not the case for Phonak), then there may be a charge level indicator. For conventional batteries you can’t take the number literally, as in figuring that 50% after 3 days means you have another 3 days left. But the number will drop below 100% before the level gets low enough to trigger the warning beeps. How long is dependent on the hearing aid and model, so you’d have to learn about yours. My Oticon Real’s can run all day when showing 90% charge, and 80% charge gives hours before running out.

#366

Thanks, having Phonak is why I have never seen this on the app.

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#367

Not even a little battery graph?

#368

i just can speak for Naida M SP (Marvel) with 13 battery.
MyPhonak app does not show batterie status for the hearing aids with replaceable batteries.

Only if you have rechargable Phonak hearing aids then you can see the battery status level in the MyPhonak app.

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#369

This is not the case with Oticon. My new Xceed 1 + CROS with disposable batteries are viewable in their app just fine. At least, my right hearing aid is.

#370

I don’t think a battery app for replaceable batteries, would be of much use, zinc air batteries, tend to hold their voltage well, then there is a rapid decline… I have had physical battery checkers in the past, but if I am being honest, they could give me a voltage reading, but not the amount of juice still left in the cell… My Phonak Naida Lumity & Paradise aids, with 675 batteries, give me a ample warning beep, approximately 1 hour prior to them dying, I always have a spare 6 pack on me, I will sometimes just let them die, if I am working on my own or there is no one else around… I normally get 11 to 12 days runtime from the 675’s, I usually keep an eye on the batteries, normally I will mark my iPhone calendar, so I am aware when they are about to die… In the UK, most hospitals have a, disposable hearing aid battery recycling facility, where you can drop off your used batteries… Occasionally, if I have something on, I will preemptive a batteries change, especially if I am around 11 days since my last batteries where changed :grin: Cheers Kev :wink:

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