Care tips for rechargeable hearing aids

Rechargeable hearing aids are gaining popularity because they are low maintenance and don’t require you to regularly purchase hearing aids batteries. Although rechargeable hearing aids are easy to use, there are a few differences in how you care for them that you need to be aware of if you’ve transitioned from non-rechargeables recently. 

There are two types of rechargeable hearing aids: 

• Silver-zinc: hearing aids with a battery door
• Lithium-ion: hearing aids without a battery door

Find your hearing aid type below to learn more about caring for and extending the life of your hearing aid battery.

Silver-Zinc (with a Battery Door)

Silver-zinc batteries are also called Z-Power batteries. They are about the same size and shape of the batteries you’re used to. They take about 3-4 hours to fully charge and will power your hearing aids for about 24 hours per charge. The battery itself should last about a year, at which point you will need to return to your provider to purchase a new one. 

Advice for Keeping Silver-Zinc Batteries Healthy

1. Always put your hearing aids in the charging station when not in use—even if they have not been fully drained. Constant charging will not drain the battery or shorten the battery life. In fact, the opposite is true.
2. Don’t store your hearing aids in an unplugged charging station. This will drain the batteries and shorten their life.
3. Don’t open the battery door when not using your hearing aids. If you’re used to wearing regular, non-rechargeable hearing aids, you know to open the battery door when you’re not using them in order to save battery life. The opposite is true with rechargeable hearing aids. However, if you’re not going to use your hearing aids for more than three hours and you cannot put them in the charging station, remove the batteries and store them in a place where they are not touching each other or other metallic objects.

How to Charge Silver-Zinc Hearing Aid Batteries

1. Make sure the hearing aids are dry and free of debris before putting them in the charging station.
2. Place the hearing aids in the charging base. The hearing aids will automatically turn off.
3. The indicator light will blink when the hearing aids are charging. The light will stop blinking and stay lit when the hearing aids are fully charged, about 3-4 hours.
4. Make sure to hold the hearing aid by the casing when you take it out of the charger, not by the wire that connects to the receiver.

Lithium-Ion (without a Battery Door)

If your rechargeable hearing aid doesn’t have a battery door, it contains a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. These batteries take about 3-4 hours to fully charge and will power your hearing aids for about 24 hours per charge. The battery itself should last for the entire life of the hearing aid, typically 4-5 years. At the end of that 4-5 year period, you should consider purchasing new hearing aids, or you can send your hearing aids to the manufacturer to have the internal battery replaced. 

Advice for Keeping Lithiun-Ion Batteries Healthy

1. Always put your hearing aids in the charging station when not in use—even if they have not been fully drained. Constant charging will not drain the battery or shorten the battery life. In fact, the opposite is true.
2. Don’t store your hearing aids in an unplugged charging station. This will drain the batteries and shorten their life.
3. If you are not going to use your hearing aids for an extended period of time, but you cannot put them in the charging base, simply turn the hearing aids off and store them in a safe place where they will not get damaged.

How to Charge Lithium-Ion Hearing Aids

1. Make sure the hearing aids are dry and free of debris before putting them in the charging station.
2. Place the hearing aids in the charging base. The hearing aids will automatically turn off.
3. The indicator light will blink when the hearing aids are charging. The light will stop blinking and stay lit when the hearing aids are fully charged, about 3-4 hours.
4. Make sure to hold the hearing aid by the casing when you take it out of the charger, not by the wire that connects to the receiver.

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