Should I be skeptical about rechargeable hearing aid?

Hearing Aids
#172

I am trying out Starkey Genesis A24 rechargeable. I have never worn any HAs before so it is difficult to compare with disposable batteries. However, let me share my experience with other wearables as it influenced me to choose rechargeable. I have been using a rechargeable watch for several years and there has never been a problem with either the charger or the watch itself. Of course, the battery life is degrading as the time goes by. Ear buds is another example.

My Starkey HA batteries are good for two days so I have plenty of room to handle any future degradation. My hearing loss is mild so I can get away with a short interruption. My HAs also warn me in my ears when the battery life reaches 10 per cent. This is a great feature.

So far the weak link with my HAs is not the HAs but the charger which has been failing to charge one of the HAs occasionally because of the slotting issue. They have given me a new charger but there is no doubt that where either the rechargeable or charger fail, you need to have a plan B in case you have serious hearing loss. I believe that in the future they might introduce a super tiny magnetic emergency battery pack hugging the HAs (example, iPhone).

Another reason I bought the rechargeable is that they are known to be waterproof as they do not contain a slot for disposable batteries. The other day, I received heavy rain on my HAs and there was no worry. I have been told that my hearing aids are covered for battery replacements but it is not crystal clear.

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#173

Yep, you were right. Don’t want you to feel unheard also…

I’m glad the discussion is going on, no matter how anyone answers. People come here to learn about hearing aids, and some of them have gotten the idea that rechargeables are the only choice. So it’s good for them to see an active discussion about batteries. Also I think the manufacturers look here also, or they should be looking, and they can extrapolate from the concerns expressed here to the larger body of hearing aid customers. We can hope.

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#174

I’m sorry to hear you’re having a problem, but thanks for sharing it here. One could assume, in the absence of more detail, that adding another component (a charger) to a pair of aids would increase the chance of a malfunction by 50%. Though if the aids are used by someone without the dexterity or vision to handle batteries then rechargeables may be more reliable.

The advantage may not be as big as you think. Here’s a user manual page for Oticon Real RIC. Other brands are presumably similar. Only the battery drawer itself is open to water, and the rest of the aids are sealed similarly to rechargeables.

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#175

Often when people ask these types of questions they are not actually looking for answers, but are trying to prove the point that disposable batteries are better. I actually don’t care what other people think or use, but on the off chance that you are actually asking how others deal with these issues, here are my answers (and I would not call myself pro-rechargeable, I have had both and both have their strengths and weaknesses, although right now I prefer rechargeables).

  1. I only have the smart charger with the built in battery. Yes, it is bigger and heavier than a package of batteries, but personally the size doesn’t bother me at all. I throw that in my backpack and am good for usually 5 days. If I was camping for longer than that I would bring a power bank to recharge it.
  2. I assume you meant if you forget your charger? I don’t think anyone is going to say this is not a disadvantage of rechargeables - of course it is. I know of someone who was able to find an audi in the area they were in who was willing to loan them a charger, so the first thing I would try would be to find an audi in the area and see if they could be of any help. Personally my charger is at the top of my packing list when I travel, but I accept that it could be forgotten at some point. That is the risk of using rechargeables. If that is a deal breaker for you, then disposable batteries are probably your best bet. I do know some people who have two chargers (corded and a travel/smart charger) and I think it is unlikely you would forget two chargers so that could also be an alternative, but I recognize that the chargers are not cheap.
  3. In my personal experience, this is the biggest benefit of rechargeables. If I charged them overnight, they don’t run out during meetings (unlike when I had disposables). I had it happen several times with my disposables and womens dress clothes often don’t have pockets, so although I had extra batteries at my desk, I didn’t always have them with me in meeting rooms. If I woke up in the morning and realized that I had not charged my HAs, it doesn’t take long to get enough charge to last the work day, so I would charge them in my smart charger while I was driving/traveling to work (or actually likely when I was getting ready for work). I might then have to find another time during the evening for a top up in that case though. Also, if you have the smart charger you can charge one at a time while you are wearing the other one. Obviously not ideal, but better than nothing.
  4. I’m not sure what kind of answer you are looking for for this question - I guess if they are dead they are dead. I will say that in almost 1.5 years of having mine they have never been completely dead - I still have usually ~25% left when I take them out a bedtime and when I am not wearing them they are charging, so there has not been an opportunity for them to go completely dead. I guess the answers I gave to question 3 are the only things you can do.

Not sure if that is helpful, and I am not interested in defending my answers, just answering in case they are genuine questions. If these situations are common for you or will be a huge concern for you, maybe you are better off sticking with disposable batteries.

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#176

I wanted to add one thing to your post, and this is not meant as disagreement. I do care what other people use. I want people who prefer conventional battery aids to buy them if they can. If someone is on the fence, I want them to learn as much as possible, because I think in many cases it’ll push them toward conventional batteries. I feel this way because the higher the market share of conventional aids, the better the chance of them staying on the market. I have no inside information, but I think the relationship stands to reason.

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#177

Agree! When I said I don’t care I meant I am not personally invested in either ‘side’ and am not trying to influence anyone one way or the other. But I agree that having the choice is better for us all!

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#178

I think this was a very helpful response, thank you @Chirp. It does seem there is a correlation in preference for conventional batteries and the amount of loss as well as how likely you are to be in unpredictable or truly off the grid situations :blush:

I’ve been getting along with my boring non-Bluetooth disposable battery (13s) for almost a decade and not paying much attention to the improvements in HAs so it was quite a surprise when I was told rechargables would have been an option if my hearing was just a little better. As a consequence this whole topic is new to me and I apologize if others are tired of it! I have found a lot of interesting and informative comments in this thread and it has helped me understand why many folks prefer rechargeable batteries.

This is also where I first noticed that conventional battery options are decreasing and sharing our concerns will hopefully help bring more visibility to this issue so we can continue to have the choices we need.

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#179

@Heather_R - You and I are in the same boat. I have not been paying much attention to the improvements in hearing aids (in Phonak’s case…lack of improvement). This is my first generation of hearing aids that have bluetooth connectivity also. This topic is new to me as well. Not to mention which now I’m faced with the shock of not being able to have ANY model hearing aid from Phonak anymore because they refuse to address my hearing loss with the Naidas + UP CROS that I bought into 10 years ago with the Quest line.

I also verified with further research that Phonak didn’t even have - not only CROS + Naida support in their Marvel line, but they even eliminated UP in their Marvel line and only had SP. So basically since the Naida B line, I’ve been out of luck when it comes to CROS support in their Naida UP (Marvel only had an SP hearing aid…no UP version).

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#180

@codergeek2015 I think the fact that you and I already in a niche category and with such limited options already (and you even more so then I!) is what makes this topic so fraught for us. We don’t have a lot of choices to start with.

I did come across some of the other threads on this topic and I can see why some are burnt out on it - seems this has been coming up regularly just about every month lately which I guess goes to show how important it is for some people!

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#181

What if I leave on a two week trip and leave my batteries at home? And it’s to a small village that doesn’t carry batateries? What if the battery door breaks? What if I get a dud set of batteries? what if…whatever ya got. That’s why I like rechargeables–too many disaster scenarios with replaceable batteries.
\And yes, I’m being ironic.
There’s an old saying among backpackers: don’t pack your fears. In other words, don’t pack with several possible disaster scenarios in mind. You’ll end up carrying far more weight than you’ll ever need. Similarly, don’t pass on an aid that works better for you because it’[s a rechargeable and you’re afraid of very unlikely scenarios unfolding that will leave you without battery power.
One more time: my portable recharger weighs three ounces–THREE OUNCES–and fits in the palm of my hand. I would be as likely to leave it behind as my iphone or a pack of batteries, which is to say, I won’[t leave it at home. It fits discretely in a side pocket. What’s the issue here?
Sometimes I think folks just like feeling aggrieved.

#182

What most of these flippant and sarcastic replies to this topic insensitively ignore is the fact that I have no usable hearing when I take my hearing aids off to recharge in the rechargeable aids scenario.

I cannot be without hearing. Ever. I wear my hearing aids for life - from wake up to sleep, (except for when taking a shower, etc.)

To me, that is a very important consideration. And I don’t think that’s fair that I have to go without hearing just to satisfy a green agenda.

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#183

I’m not talking about a “green agenda”. You’re wearing replaceable battery HAs now. I assume that you have worn HAs for some time, and maybe have others stashed away as back up. Just last week the wire connecting my right aid to the reciever came off. It was a long weekend (new year’s day.) My provider wasn’t available for three days. Of course I had my old battery aids in my drawer and things went on fine. I also made sure to have a set of batteries that fit this aid stashed along with it. I did this years ago looking towards just this sort of scenario. So I missed nothing.
If you or anyone were to get rechargeables–and honestly it’s not my business, but let’s say that you found a pair that worked great but were rechargeables—then, you’d still have the replaceable battery powered aids that you have now available if some disaster struck.
Once that the wire disconnected from my current aids, all that it took was for me to open a drawer and find my old repalceable battery aids. I put in a new battery, whether it was needed or not, and I was off to the races.
This is not difficult.

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#184

Jeffery, I came across some of the other threads on this topic yesterday and it seems it’s the rechargeable folks that are mostly coming up with the crazy what if scenarios. Additionally, we keep saying 30 minutes to charge is not acceptable but that keeps being the suggestion we get. As for having battery backups as a solution to problems with your rechargables? Apart from making me laugh given the context of the discussion that’s only helpful if a) you have backup hearing aids and b) you have them with you at all times.

I just find it odd that the rechargeable crowd really can’t envision a lifestyle where conventional batteries are better and safer. I’ve done emergency hike outs at midnight in pouring rain, waited in a tent while a bear is sniffing around, been stuck after dark on a big wall climb and then had a two hour walk off, and so on. Even at home I’ve had ER visits and emergency vet visits. I would never trust rechargables in any of those scenarios. Yes, HAs can break but that’s always true and has nothing to do with this discussion.

If my only choice was HAs with conventional batteries I like and rechargeable ones I love I would get the conventional ones :woman_shrugging:

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#185

I’ve been reading these threads for years. Pretty sure you just won the “what if” scenario contest. :slight_smile: Happy to be proven wrong though if anyone remembers something that tops it.

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#186

Most folk whom don’t have a profound hearing loss, are never going to quite grasp the nettle @jeffrey… I am unsure what your loss is Jeffrey, so I have no idea how deaf you are? Now, I can sign, probably a few thousand hours of learning went into that, but it is only effective when you are amongst other signers, I have been trained in lip reading, which isn’t very effective in the dark… Someone with a mild/moderate to moderately severe hearing loss, can probably get away with their aids going down, for a few hours, or perhaps a few days, it may be a struggle, but they can communicate, but here’s the rub, a BTE UP user will normally struggle with there aids in, if their aids are down, lost or otherwise unusable, they are effectively incommunicado… At present, there is no option to buy a BTE UP rechargeable, they haven’t been invented, YET! So BTE UP’s with 675 batteries, are there only viable option… I think, we can safely assume, BTE UP users, are probably the most vulnerable users, within the hearing aid market? They will be completely lost without their aids, and unable to function! This in itself creates undue stress & anxiety, within the severe/profound thresholds, anxiety is very commonplace for us guys, we worry all the time, especially when meeting folks for the first time, will they speak too quiet, will they mumble, will they cover there mouth with their hands, whilst talking??? Going anywhere off grid is a major undertaking :rofl: Spare aids, check, spare batteries, check, secondary spare batteries, check, ALD, check, spare ALD, check, charging brick for ALD’s, check, all these get packed before anything else, I kid you not! :joy: I think because of our loss, we are natural worriers, so much so, future hearing aid development is a big part of our lives & interest, and the apparent lack of BTE UP’s with 675 batteries under development, also has us worried… At present, only Phonak with their Naida Lumity BTE UP’s, are the only new game in town, a Cros version of this would be most welcome in the not too distant future! Oticon Xceed, is coming up on 5 years since its release, in relative terms, it’s old hat! I would say, most UP users, will be worried about the future, we see at present, more and more development of rechargeable aids, and less, and less BTE UP’s, with replaceable batteries options being made available, I don’t think these worries are misplaced? This might be the primary reason for any angst on this thread or others like it? As always, YMMV… Cheers Kev :wink:

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#187

My cochlear processors are rechargeable and I am deaf when they are not on my head.

They are worn from the moment I get up until bedtime.

This has been for three years now, never a problem.

Even an 8 day power outage during an ice storm that I spent many hours out in dealing with things didn’t keep me from hearing. Temperatures down to 4 degrees F or -16 degrees C. Taking care of the processors was the least of my worries.

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#188

You have the option to use specially developed 675 batteries as an alternative, do you not Rick? Cheers Kev :wink:

#190

Yes, the N7 processors can be ran with disposable batteries. I have yet to use disposable batteries at this point.

As many know, CI processors are heavy power users, much more so that hearing aids.

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#191

@Dusty :joy: Though technically these are not “what ifs” since they all happened to me along with many other similar stories I could share.

@JeremyDC, what isn’t true and how am I denigrating anyone or any group? Being told we are creating “what ifs” or “packing our fears” and being presented with made up scenarios to make it seem like we are overreacting is dismissive and insulting when we have real lived experiences that support our decision.

As @kevels55 pointed out the current state of BTE UPs is quite worrying to those who rely on them, this is not an abstract concern for us. I should add that many of us with UPs have already felt betrayed at one point or another as they keep restricting their offerings and we are stuck ‘making do’ with what is available.

Anyway, the title of this thread is “should I be skeptical of rechargeable HAs” and while initially I just would have said yes now, after hearing the others from the rechargeable side of things my answer would be do your research and evaluate your lifestyle. Maybe they will work for you, maybe they won’t.

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#192

Yeah Rick, that’s an ideal world, having the option of both :grin: I was going to try these CI 675 batteries on my Naida Lumity’s, perhaps my next purchase of batteries, in a few months? I might get a couple of days longer runtime? They are slightly more expensive than the ordinary 675’s, not that I am bothered with the price though, around 13 days runtime with the ordinary batteries… Thank you for the reply. Cheers Kev :grin:

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