While the battery performance for hearing aids might seem a straightforward question to answer, in truth it depends on a variety of factors. One consideration is the company manufacturing the hearing aid. Battery life differs by manufacturer and also by model from the same manufacturer. The way you use your hearing aid will also affect battery life; the more hours each day yours is switched on, the more rapidly you will consume batteries.
There are even varying battery lives in the exact same size of hearing aid battery depending on the manufacturer, and depending on if you are buying that manufacturer’s “premium” line or their “normal” line of batteries. Some batteries will not start to drain their power resources until they’re inserted into a hearing aid that is turned on, but some (such as zinc-air batteries) will begin to lose power the moment you remove the adhesive tab on the bottom of the battery, and will continue to lose power even if the hearing aid is not on.
If considering new hearing aids, it’s a good idea to do some research on the different models and the types of hearing aid batteries they use to help you make the best choice for your lifestyle.
If you have an existing hearing aid and are searching for the longest lasting batteries for it, the Internet can be a fabulous source of comparative ratings and reviews.
Thankfully, when shopping for hearing aid batteries, the companies that manufacturer them have made things a lot simpler for you by standardizing their sizes and color-coding each size; the identical color codes are used by all manufacturers. Take a look at the estimated battery life below to get a basic idea of how long batteries of each size can be expected to last:
- #10 – Yellow tag – 80 hours
- #13 – Orange tag – 240 hours
- #312 – Brown tag – 175 hours
- #675 – Blue tag – 300 hours
For the longest battery life, remember to turn your hearing aid off when you are not wearing it. To ensure the longest shelf life for hearing aid batteries you have purchased but haven’t used yet, store them indoors, at room temperature, and in their original, unopened packaging.