In our last blog, we talked about three of the five factors that impact the lifespan of a hearing aid battery. They were:
- Severity of hearing loss
- How many hours per day the individual wears the hearing instruments
- The size of the battery
Two other factors that determine how long a hearing aid battery will last are:
- Unique features of different models of hearing instruments
- Environment
Premium hearing instruments are available in three different levels of technology. Each technology level features an increasing number of microphones and channels, wireless connectivity to cell phones and televisions with the use of a remote, FM compatibility, and programming features with different strategies for promoting speech intelligibility in challenging environments. The number of microphones, use of wireless accessories, and sophistication of programming features determine "how hard the hearing aid has to work" to account for an individual's hearing loss and lifestyle. This directly impacts how much battery life the hearing instrument consumes to maximize its performance.
Environment
The Hearing Review highlights how different environments impact the lifespan of hearing aid batteries:
- Low Humidity
- Less humid environments (such as indoor environments during the winter time or homes that use wood burning fireplaces) can cause batteries to dry out more quickly and therefore shorten their life cycle.
- High Humidity
- More humid environments (working outdoors in the heat) can cause the battery to take on more moisture. This can also reduce its lifespan.
- Temperature
- Battery life shortens due to the lower output of voltage in colder environments.
- Altitude
- Higher altitudes reduce battery life due to a decrease in the amount of oxygen that is available.
With this in mind, how do you pick the right hearing aid battery? Does the quality of hearing aid batteries vary among different brands? How long should you expect your hearing aid batteries to last? Next blog...
To read The Hearing Review's article on hearing aid battery life (the source of information for this post), click here.
Image provided courtesy of digitalart of freedigitalphotos.net
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