A question we often get asked at Hearing Healthcare Centre is “how long will my batteries last for?” This is a question that isn’t easily answered, because many factors can influence the battery life in each hearing aid.
Below are some factors that can affect how long your batteries last.
An Individual’s hearing loss; as severity of hearing loss increases:
- Increased amplification and volume is required
- Increase in the current
- Battery life is reduced
The battery size:
- Similar to conventional batteries, as the physical size of the batteries decreases, the amount of ingredients needed to power the battery also decreases. So, the smaller your battery, the less life you will get from them.An individual’s hearing aid usage
- The more you wear your hearing aids, the more battery life they will use. Be aware, however, hearing aid batteries begin draining once they have been activated (tab removed), regardless of use.
Instrument differences:
- Sophisticated features such as noise cancelling or multi-channel processing can reduce battery life by as much as 20%. The cleverer your hearing aid, the more battery it will use.
- Wireless and Bluetooth features, when in use, can increase the battery consumption by as much as 300%. So, ensure to pack extra batteries if you know that you’re going to be streaming for long periods of time.
The environment
- Low humidity; as humidity decreases, batteries may dry out which can reduce the battery life.
- High humidity; as humidity increases, batteries may take on moisture which interferes with the natural discharge expansion, resulting in swelling/leaking and reduction in battery life.
- Temperature; as temperature is reduced, battery voltage is lowered as well as the functional life of the battery.
- Altitude; as altitude increases, the amount of oxygen present in the air is reduced, which reduces the amount of oxygen available to the zinc-air battery and adversely affecting the battery life
