Thinking about buying one of these.
Does anybody have any opinions about which is best? They are close to each other in price.
Zephyr runs for 8 hours so I’ll always use that over something that runs for 45 minutes.
I’m also looking for a dryer but I have rechargeable hearing aids so 8 hour dry time is a no go
I have the PerfectDry LUX with my Phonak m90 r.
Works fine for me. I got it used so it was cheap.
To be honest, I don’t think the rechargeable thing is true. I’m not an electronics engineer, but I came really close to being one.
First, rechargeable anything gets warm as you are charging it.
Second, I’ve usually heard it’s not the length of time in the heat, but rather the highest temp. The usual ones get up to 108, and the ones for rechargeables get up to 98.
But, the reason I call BS on all this is…I live in the SW USA, and it regularly gets up to 110 in the summer…all day long. So, if that is OK for my HA, why wouldn’t the dryer be OK?
Plus, I’m not gonna put them in the dryer every day.
I think @mr.smithster means that there’s not enough time during the night to keep aids in a dryer for 8 hours, if they also have to spend time in a charger. But I agree with you about drying temperatures. One brand says drying temps for their rechargeable aids should be limited to 85°F. That’s less than body temperature.
I have the Phonak Audeo Life M90-RL that I got from the VA. I called the VA number for Phonak (866) 230-0110 PerfectDry (833) 835-3787 and Costco Hearing Aid Center near me that sold me the dryer. They all said the same thing, that the hearing aids are compatible with the PerfectDry Lux. I’ve been using PerfectDry Lux about 2 weeks and don’t have any problems. The hearing aids still charge to 99-100%.
Our bodies sweat; we breathe, and have other ways of cooling down. HAs don’t. It may be 108% outdoors but are you out in the sun all that time? No. Most often we’re indoors in much cooler temps.
Personally, since my rechargeable aids state plainly not to use a dryer that goes up to 108, or beyond ( if that’s the limit’[ I can’[t recall because I’m using a Hal Hen style dryer where temp isn’t an issue)…anyway, as I was saying, since my aids say not to exceed a certain temp in a dryer…I take them at their word. Call bs if you want, but give some evidence. The examples given don’t stand up to scrutiny.
I paid a lot for my rechargeable aids. I don’[t want to wreck them in a too hot dryer. what would you say it that happened? “You shouldn’t have listened to a stranger on the internet instead of the folks who made your HAs”?
I’m sure there are plenty of people around the world who are in 100-110 degree temps all day long with rechargeable hearing aids.
The proof goes the opposite way with the practical evidence. If you want proof, ask the HA manufacturer the same questions. They won’t be able to provide proof of any damage.
But of course, they are gonna say don’t put them in a hot dryer…they don’t want to be liable if HA’s fail. This is why they say don’t get them wet at all, even though they are rated to IP8, which means they can be submerged in water up to 3 ft deep for over 30 mins.
Yet, they say don’t even get them wet. So, why would they do that?
Because by law, they have to rate them. But, that doesn’t stop them from giving extra caution.
Same with temp. Do you see them saying in their instructions to not leave them in a hot car? Gets up to 140 in a hot car. Do you think that when they are shipped from the manufacturing plant to the point of sale in a truck they don’t get up above 120 or more? Of course, they do.
Much ado about nothing in terms of damage.
You want to know what the real reason is they don’t want them to get hot at all? Battery life. Think about it…we all know cell phone batteries don’t last forever. We know that as they get older they don’t charge as quickly and they don’t last as long. We know that if you charge them when they are hot they don’t last as long.
The last thing a HA manufacturer wants to do is be called out about dead batteries when someone spent $6000 on them. So, every little thing they can tell us to do to get that battery lasting longer they will tell us to do.
Regarding battery life, the standard advice for Lithium-ion is to avoid having them sit nearly fully charged or discharged, especially when hot. Also, it is likely that having them turned on when hot (inc. in a dryer) is detrimental for battery life.
Hence, my nighttime routine for my KS-10’s is 1) remove & turn off, 2) put in dryer (PerfectDry LUX, which runs for 30 min), 3) put in charger but do not plug in. 4) when my “Indian alarm clock” goes off at ~5:30 am, plug in charger, then go back to bed.
Since I’m “gainfully unemployed”, I don’t really need the aids charged early but if I were still a working stiff, I’d probably connect the charger to a timer.
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Fine, wear your aids in the rain and dry them in the oven. I’ll pass, thanks.
You still rely on speculation and no real evidence. “If you want proof, ask the HA manufacturer the same questions. They won’t be able to provide proof of any damage.” Actually, you tell others to do this. But did you? No, again, you speculate. I’m certain that in fact they CAN provide proof of damage, and that’s why they tell folks with rechargeable aids not to use dryers that heat beyond a certain point. And in fact, that meets your “practical evidence” criteria, such as it is. It makes sense that an entirely encased unit with no openings will trap heat more than a normal battery aid that has a door that opens and allows heat to escape that way. For heaven’s sake.
I wouldn’t care about your thoughts on this topic, but lots of folks read these posts and might come away thinking they can toss their aids in the washer and they’ll be fine, based on what you write. Or anyway, that they can ignore the warnings stated by manufacturers because some guy on the internet has a gripe with authority.
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I use the Zephyr. Love it
I have rechargeable aids so perfect dry works great for me. Some days I’ll drop them in it for the 30-40 mins cycle to dry and sanitize them. Easy.
Jeffrey, I’m allowed to voice my opinion. What the heck proof do you want? OK, everybody who has rechargeable hearing aids that uses a normal dryer will you please stand up? Two so far in this thread. Ok, anybody who has rechargeable hearing aids that uses a dryer and has damaged them, please stand up? Waiting…
You do obviously care about my thoughts…enough so far that you are the most vocal about it.
Lastly, can you tell me what your water resistants rating is for your HA’s? Mine specifically state that it’s OK to wear them in the rain. But, remember, I live in the area where it gets up to 110 degrees, daily in the summer, which the manufacturer doesn’t mention as bad, yet I’m not supposed to put mine in a dryer that gets to 108 degrees? Yeah, right…
So, lets just drop our argument, OK. It’s not what the thread was about.
Do you use a dryer Jeffrey? That’s all I was asking in the beginning.
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Thanks bobbydigital16.
You are number 3 that has no issue with it.
Thanks Laura. Are yours rechargeable?
You didn’t make us aware that you had rechargeable Aids so we weren’t to know that you couldn’t use the Zephyr anyway!
No worries Zebras. I made no mention of that as I was primarily interested in the two that I mentioned. Partly picking those two because I don’t need the UV “sterilazation”.
But, I also picked those two because I can find no mention in any of my hearing aids documentation about any speciphic characteristics of the dryer. In all areas that I can find, both conventional and rechargeables are specifically mentioned, but the recommendations are the same for each type.
Perhaps I’m missing something somewhere? I have the Widex Moment 440 RIC.
No they are not.
I think the Zephyr states not to use rechargeable hearing aids in that unit.
Are these rechargeable’s? If so, I believe the zephyr gets too hot.