What would you do in a storm with rechargeable hearing aids?!

Hearing Aids
21

Sorry, you’re right, my post was accusatory, even though I didn’t mean it to be. I “replied” to you in order to give my words some context, but they weren’t meant to be addressed to you. For example if you read my first sentence it picks up on a topic that you didn’t bring up, but others have recently and in the past. I was meaning to address a lot of concerns that folks have about rehcaregeables that I’ve found to be of no concern in my experience. I did respond to your concern about dead batteries, and again for me this has been a non issue. Others who use rechargeables may have found otherwise, but I’ve not heard that from actual users unless their charger is defective, which will be apparent.

P.S I was always speaking about MY experience, not everybody’s, as is apparent if you read my responses.

22

Typical HA battery life is pretty long. I still have 30 percent charge left after a 16 hour day. And recharging time is fairly short–perhaps about 2 hours, although I’ve never tested it.

But, yes, I suppose there are situations where you might run out of battery power and need to use your aids. What do you do with your old aids? I always keep my former aids as a backup. For example, when traveling I take them along, just in case I might lose my current aids, or wear them into a pool/shower, etc. and have them fail. I could use them as well if my HAs needed to be recharged.

I"m on my 4th set of hearing aids. I’ve gifted my first two, but keep my previous aids as a back-up.

23

All the solutions to rechargeable hearing aid problems remind me of the old joke about the guy who gets a suit made by a tailor. He puts on the finished suit, and finds one sleeve is too long, one leg is too short, the lapels aren’t lined up, and so on. The tailor tells him, just hold that arm like this, bend that leg like this, bend at the waist like this, etc. The customer does as he’s told, and the tailor says, look in the mirror, the suit fits fine. Two passersby see the guy walking out of the shop wearing his new suit, and one says “look at that poor guy, he’s all contorted and he can barely walk”. The other passerby replies, “Yeah, but he’s got a great tailor”.

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24

people learn not to drive their car until it runs out of gas before filling up. Rechargeables can be topped up with a 20 minute charge that will last many hours.

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25

I share your concern.
I have rechargeable batteries on my Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s. I wear them average 15 hours a day. Twice this last week I have had to recharge my hearing aids after about 10 hours of use.

I watch my pattern of use. Now I need to dedicate a brick with enough capacity to recharge them.

DaveL
Toronto

26

I lived in the mountains for about a decade in the past. We were subject to regular power outages, some lasting 3 weeks. They didn’t really bother me except for the cold showers. :cold_face:

What worked for me was a combination of things. Small power banks, they can be recharged with solar, grid, or generator as needed. I did have a small gas generator but rarely used it.
My primary backup was an inverter in my truck. Now my truck had 2 batteries, one would disconnect when the truck was off, this supplied the inverter. So, if my battery was drained, I could still start my truck.
I know there are hand cranked generators also but those are exhausting.

Not sure if this helps but it worked for me.

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27

Communication when you can’t hear is certainly difficult.
In situations where my CI (or previously HA) is/wasn’t helpful:
If I someone is trying to speak to me and I don’t need/want to talk back, I just point to my :mute: tattoo. Yes I have one.
But if I want/need to talk to them, I use a note app on my phone. Worst case, a pen and paper also work.

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28

My HAs can take a reasonable charge in a few minutes, but not fast enough to work in an emergency. The only true hedges against this scenario are to ensure your HAs always have at least a minimum charge or to have a back-up available. For me, the former would be more feasible than the latter.

The ultimate fallback is something like a pen and pad of paper (or small dry erase marker board). Slower than speaking but if your HAs are no use and you need someone to communicate a brief message to you they can write a few words quickly.

29

Back ups.
Very simple.
Plan for these things.
Good luck.

30

I also carry a battery with me, for my HAs or my phone. Bit of a brick in the backpack along with my laptop and everything else but good insurance.

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31

Zebras, I TOTALLY get what you are asking, what you lived through, and what your concerns are.

I lived a mile high in the mountains for 17 years. For ALL of those years, I had battery-operated aids: AGX, Oticon, Phonak. We’d lose power for 1-2 days a couple times every winter, with snow up to the 1st floor balcony and NO way out. Well, I did have some expedition wear that I’d put on, backpack slung over my shoulder to get to the local market for necessities.

I also traveled overseas every other year to places where things could have gone sideways quickly - so I’d bring 4-6 weeks’ worth of batteries with me - and even then, hope for the best.

At 65, it was probably a blessing that thanks to the pandemic, hubs and I were KICKED out of our 17-yr rental - place was sold at a premium right out from under us. So I resolved to relocate to a place with better weather, but, um, er, well, it has a 5-mo hurricane season. Flash forward to our relocation in 2021 and I ended up with my rechargeable Phonak aids over a year ago.

I have brought up this very issue with my audi and Phonak reps. All we can do is keep the pressure up to have battery-operated aids for us. It’s ridiculous to completely ignore the reality of our times. Climate change, global unrest, and personal preferences cry out for battery-operated options. We don’t all live in Nirvana attending garden parties.

The fact that weather is getting more extreme, and even reliable sources of energy are becoming less certain prompt me to always have my old battery-operated Marvel aids on my person with a month’s supply of batteries. I just added battery pack to my packing list for the stoopid rechargeables that I’ve had to buy. Greatful for their performance, but irked that they HAVE to be charged up after 17 hrs of use.

In a real pinch with no warning (earthquake, fire, WAR, etc.) there may not be options for us if we don’t plan ahead and live like we’re ready for the unforseen. I’m known as a weather fanatic, but that’s cuz I’ve lived in areas where power can fail and there may not be a way to the local store for batteries - forget about charging up the aids and Roger stick!

In this regard, many HA makers are like ostriches with their head in the sand. I was told by the Phonak rep that battery aids don’t have the options of rechageables. I’m no expert, but that made me guffaw. Seriously? We are simply not given an option that guarantees our independence and safety. I have a husband with 2 working ears, but I hope that battery aids will make a comeback.

Hoping you’ll have some options and an evacuation packing list for the next time Mother Nature calls. Winter’s coming …

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32

Most chargers are usb. Usb is 5v. In a pinch, link 4 dry cells for 4.5v and power the charger. 6v would likely work as well.

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33

@Zebras I’m not sure whether I fully understand the question, but I use Resound rechargeable aids and one charge lasts about two days, but in practice I usually charge them overnight from a Resound charger which has a lithium Ion battery in it.

That charger will recharge my aids for about 5 days then it needs charging, which I do during the day.

In point of fact I have two of those chargers and alternate their use, so I always have one charger fully charged and one partly charged.

The Resound charger also uses most any USB port, so you don’t necessarily need AC to charge it.

I don’t suppose Resound is different in these respects to Phonak and the rest?

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34

Same, but I’m down to about 12hrs on the left ear.

35

@Zebras, the problem you pose will be ameliorated if and when runtimes get to a few days. Then it’ll be convenient to put the aids in the charger while they still have enough charge for a couple of days of use.

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36

Yes!

Definitely not there yet but maybe one day in the future.

Phonak are far off but that might be the Bluetooth?

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37

I’m guess I’m basing it on Phonak battery life which easiest struggles to get through a day UNLESS you limit Bluetooth.

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38

If I was stuck in a storm I would be glad I have aids that use disposable batteries :slight_smile:

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39

More specific to the rechargeables. My “survival” plan has always been to get my Marvels out and I always have a few months’ supply of batteries on hand.

As for my rechargeables? I’d be in a pickle if power failed in my area for longer than 3 charge-ups on these Phonaks. We do keep an inverter with USB ports charged up here … so that could give me a bit more leeway. And there’d be no streaming of TV without power on; phone streaming would be calls only. Not an optimum scenario.

(Edit: typo on USB)

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40

Personally, I’d just go back to saying “What?” a lot. You can also change while driving in the car, as chargers are USB powered and 30mins usually nets a good few hours usage.

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