Which is the best battery for hearing aids?

When talking to your audiologist about the use and care of your hearing aid, the subject of batteries is going to come up a lot. Hearing aids are, after all, electronic devices and, as such, they need a source of electrical energy which is provided by the battery. Not only is it important to take good care of batteries, but you also want to make sure that you’re choosing the best batteries possible.

Here, we’re going to look at the kind of batteries that are compatible with hearing aids, what kind of life you can expect out of them, and a few tips to make sure you’re getting the best out of the best batteries for your hearing aids.

Choosing the right hearing aids

First of all, it’s important to bear in mind that not all hearing aid batteries are compatible with all hearing aids. When you’re looking at buying batteries, you have to make sure that you know which size your hearing aid takes. There are four different sizes of batteries, each able to fit into a different kind of battery compartment on your hearing aid.

While there may be some outliers, most battery brands will use the same color tabs to help easily identify the different sizes at a glance.

The four sizes are as follows:

• Size 13 batteries use an orange tab
• Size 312 batteries use a brown tab
• Size 10 batteries use a yellow tab
• Size 675 batteries use a blue tab

Whenever you’re looking for the right battery, make sure you choose the right size, first and foremost. From there, it’s recommended you give a few different brands a trial and see which ones are best suited to you. Trial packs are smaller packs of batteries designed to help you do precisely that. You want to make sure that not only you’re getting the best possible battery life from your choice, but also that it fits your budget and is convenient to acquire and use.

How long do different hearing aid batteries last?

There are different factors that can all affect how long it takes to drain a hearing aid battery. The quality of the battery itself, the type and model of hearing aid, how consistently the hearing aid is used, the different features and amplification levels used. All of these can speed up the drainage rate of a battery.

However, when it comes to average hearing aid battery lives, it primarily comes down to the size of the battery above everything else.

On average, ITC hearing users will wear their hearing aids for up to 13 hours a day. So, not only will we look at the average total life of batteries of different sizes. We will divide the total life by 13, representing the 13 hours of use a day, to help estimate how many days batteries of different sizes are likely to work for.

• Size 10 batteries will last an average of 60 hours. When divided by 13 hours a day,  this is roughly 4.6 days of battery life.
• Size 312 batteries will last an average of 73 hours which, divided by 13, gives them 5.6 days of battery life roughly.
• Size 13 batteries will last an average of 117 hours which, divided by 13, gives them 9 days of battery life.
• Size 675 batteries will last an average of 154-hour, divided by 13, gives them roughly 11.8 days of battery life.

As mentioned, these are all average figures, so they may not exactly match with your own experiences with batteries you have used.

Getting the most out of your batteries

Aside from selecting the batteries that best suit your needs, it is important to also make sure that you’re taking proper care of them. A lack of maintenance can cause your batteries to drain all the faster.

Moisture and humidity are some of the biggest issues leading to battery corrosion. Make sure you store them in dry spaces at room temperature, in a dehumidifier if possible. Do not leave your batteries inside the hearing aid overnight when you take it out. Only remove the tab on batteries when you are about to use them.

Ask your audiologist

Aside from helping test for hearing loss and treat all manner of ear and hearing health issues, audiologists also regularly offer information and help on all manner of hearing aid care and use. If you have any questions and need some help using your hearing aid, you can get in touch with Hear Here Audiology at (727) 289-1212!