Even though the battery life for hearing aids might sound like a straightforward question to answer, it actually hinges on many factors. One variable is the manufacturer of the hearing aid. Battery life varies by manufacturer and also by model from the same manufacturer. The actual life of a hearing aid battery also depends upon the length of time each day that the hearing aid is turned on. As you would expect, the more you use the hearing aid, the more rapidly the batteries will deplete.
There are even different 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. Battery life also depends on battery type; for example some varieties are only discharging power when they are inside a hearing aid that is on, while other varieties (for example, zinc-air batteries) start losing power as soon as you take away the adhesive strip on the bottom of the battery and they are in contact with oxygen, regardless of whether the hearing aid is on or not.
If you are looking for a new hearing aid, you might want to do some research first to see which have the best ratings for battery life, because that may influence your decision about which type or which model of hearing aid to purchase. The same research suggestion holds true if you have an existing hearing aid and are searching for the batteries with the longest life for it; you can uncover a great deal from consumer ratings and comparative reviews.
Hearing aid manufacturers have worked to make things simpler by standardizing their sizes and using specific color codes for each battery size which is the same for every manufacturer. The following list of battery life is estimated, of course, but it may give you a basic idea of how long hearing aid batteries of each size should last:
- 80 hours – #10 – Yellow
- 175 hours – #312 – Brown
- 240 hours – #13 – Orange
- 300 hours – #675 – Blue
Don’t forget to turn your hearing aid off when you aren’t using 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.
