Although it might seem to be a simple question to ask just how long hearing aid batteries should be expected to last, it isn’t. How long hearing aid batteries will last is determined by numerous factors. How long a battery will last depends on which company manufactured the battery, and will vary across different hearing aid models from the exact same manufacturer. The actual life span of a hearing aid battery also depends on the amount of time each day that the hearing aid is powered on. Unsurprisingly, the more you use the hearing aid, the faster the batteries will be used up.
There are even different battery lives in the exact same size of hearing aid battery depending on the manufacturer, and depending on whether you are purchasing that manufacturer’s “premium” line or their “normal” line of batteries. Hearing aid battery life also depends on battery type; for example some varieties are only discharging power when they are inside a hearing aid that is switched on, and other varieties (such as, zinc-air batteries) start losing stored energy as soon as you remove the adhesive strip on the bottom of the battery and they are in contact with oxygen, whether the hearing aid is turned on or not.
Because the expense of batteries adds up, if you’re looking for a new hearing aid, you should do some research to see which types and models of hearing aids have the best battery life, because that may influence your choice. If you have an existing hearing aid and are looking for the most long-lasting batteries for it, the Internet can be a wonderful source of comparative ratings and reviews.
Luckily, when shopping for hearing aid batteries, their manufacturers have made things a little simpler for you by standardizing their sizes and color-coding each size; the identical color codes are used by all hearing aid battery manufacturers. The following list of battery life is an approximation, of course, but it should give you a general idea of how long hearing aid batteries of each size should last:
- Size 10 – Yellow – 80 hours
- Size 13 – Orange – 240 hours
- Size 312 – Brown – 175 hours
- Size 675 – Blue – 300 hours
Don’t forget to turn your hearing aid off when you aren’t wearing it for the longest battery life. 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.