Why Do Your Hearing Aid Batteries Die So Fast?

The quality of life improvement that your hearing aids can offer you is well worth investing in. Your audiologist will be glad to help you select the best hearing aids to suit your needs and to offer you plenty of advice and help in taking care of them. After all, to make sure you get the best out of them, you need to look after them, especially the batteries.

All hearing aid batteries will run out, but if you feel like yours aren’t lasting as long as they’re supposed to, then you should take a look at a few of the issues below that might be influencing them.

How long should hearing aid batteries last, anyway?

This question isn’t easy to answer without knowing what particular type and size of battery you’re using. Your audiologist can offer a more precise answer when they know that, as well as what type of hearing aid you’re powering. Different features and even environments drain batteries at a different rate. However, regardless of size, your batteries should last from three to seven days and if they are dying sooner than that, it could be due to some of the following issues.

You’re waiting too long to use them

All batteries will slowly lose their charge over time, even when they’re sat in storage, not being used, and have their tab still connected. Clearly, you don’t want this to happen. As such, when you’re changing your batteries, make sure to use the ones that have been sitting there the longest so you can get as much of their charge as possible.

They’re being left in rooms that are too moist, too hot, or too cold

Batteries are relatively sensitive. They can be impacted by moisture and both heat and cold. Aside from draining them faster, moisture can also cause batteries to corrode and they may then leak acid into your hearing aid, damaging the device. As such, make sure you keep your hearing aids in dry, cool environments when possible and never keep them in the bathroom or fridge.

You’re not using a hearing aid dehumidifier

If you want to protect your hearing aids from battery corrosion, then a hearing aid dehumidifier has space for both your hearing aids and batteries, draining humidity and moisturize while protecting them when you take them off overnight. As such, you can make sure you’re using batteries efficiently and preventing damage at the same time.

You’re handling batteries with dirty hands

Your hands might look and feel clean to you, but even minuscule bits of dirt and grease can get caught on batteries, damaging both them and the hearing aid. Washing and drying your hands before you take your batteries out, install them, switch them or otherwise handle them is always recommended.

Putting the batteries in as soon as you remove the tabs

All batteries have a protective seal or tab that is removed before use. However, it’s important to wait a moment, as the batteries are activated by the air after the tabs are removed. This is known as letting the batteries breathe and it’s recommended you let batteries breathe for three to five minutes before installing them.

Removing the tab too long before putting the battery in

You should only remove the tabs from a battery when you’re ready to use them. After they start breathing, they’re going to start draining. This is fine if they’re in the device, but otherwise, they could end up losing a lot of their charge before you put them in your hearing aid device. As such, they could run out much sooner.

You’re keeping the battery compartment closed when not wearing your hearing aids

It’s a wise idea to take your batteries out of your hearing aids, store them in a cool, dry place and to keep the battery compartment open when you’re not using them. Whether you’re going to sleep or using the bathroom, this allows the battery storage part of the hearing aid to allow any excess moisture to escape.

There could be something wrong with the hearing aid

If it’s not an issue of how you’re handling your battery that’s causing them to drain too quickly, it could be something wrong with the hearing aid, too. Perhaps there is a malfunction with the device that your audiologist could fix. If you still don’t know what your hearing aid batteries are dying so fast, then you should get in touch with Sommerville Audiology & Hearing Aid Center, we can answer any questions at 586-298-3788 and arrange for a visit to the office to take a closer look at the problem.