It’s a popular talking point in our industry – how long will a hearing aid battery last? And the answer is not a simple one. There are several factors that determine the life of a hearing aid battery. Below we review the 6 most important factors and why battery lifetime can be so variable.
Factor #1 The Extent of the Individual’s Hearing Loss
The worse the individual’s hearing is, the more amplification they need. Increased amplification requires greater power, which in turn reduces battery life.
Factor #2 The Size of the Battery
Hearing aids are becoming smaller and smaller to meet the demands for more discreet, cosmetically appealing instruments. However, small hearing aids come at a price. They require small batteries and the smaller the battery, the shorter the battery life. The reason for this is that small batteries include fewer components than large batteries, which impacts how long the battery can last.
Factor #3 How Much You Use Your Hearing Aid
The more usage a hearing aid gets, the shorter the life of the battery.
Factor #4 Features Differ From One Hearing Aid to Another
Today’s hearing aids are feature packed and each feature has different power demands for a battery. Features like noise cancellation and multi-channel processing can reduce battery life by 20%. Other premium features like FM looping, sound generation for Tinnitus patients and wireless/bluetooth can increase the current by up to 300%, which shortens battery life significantly.
Factor #5 Environment
Humidity, temperature and altitude all have an effect on how long a battery will last.
- As humidity is reduced, batteries can dry out reducing battery life
- As humidity increases, batteries may take on moisture, interfering with the natural discharge expansion, resulting in swelling/leakage and reducing battery life
- As temperature is reduced, hearing aid battery voltage is lowered and reaches functional end point earlier, reducing battery life
- As altitude increases, the percentage of oxygen level in the air is reduced, lowering the hearing aid battery voltage, causing the battery to reach the endpoint earlier, reducing battery life
Factor #6 Battery Life Expectancy
Batteries have ranges of expected life (in days) depending on the size of the battery. For example, a size 10 battery has the life expectancy of 3 – 10 days.
Please note, like other types of consumer batteries, there are some quality differences in hearing aid batteries. Hearing aid manufacturers may have a recommendation for a particular brand that their own testing indicates perform well with their products.