My name is Tracy Saunders and I'm an Audiologist with Hearing Solutions.
I am registered with CASLPO, the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists
of Ontario.
Today we're going to talk about hearing aid batteries.
We'll look at how to change them, how to store them, and other common questions.
Hearing aid batteries come in four different sizes.
So, it's important to know which size is right for your hearing aid.
They are colour-coded.
So find out which colour you have, it might be yellow, orange, brown, or blue.
So , I have a pair of hearing aids here and I happen to know, because my hearing healthcare
provider told me, that the colour of batteries is brown.
So, here's a packet of the brown size of hearing aid batteries.
Most hearing aid batteries come in these little dial packs that spin around.
To access and take out a battery your going to remove the pull-tab at the back of the
packaging.
Once the pull-tab is opened you can place one of the hearing aid batteries in your hand.
All hearing aid batteries have little pull-tabs attached to them.
This is because the battery is actually activated by air.
As soon as you remove that pull-tab, the battery becomes activated.
So, do not remove the pull-tab until you're ready to start using the battery.
After I remove the pull-tab, it's important to let the hearing aid battery sit for about
two minutes, that allows the air to get into the little holes and have the battery become
activated.
In my hearing aid here, I've got a battery that's no longer working.
So, I'm going to open the battery door and discard the old battery.
Again, once two has passed, I'm going to put the new battery into the hearing aid and close
the battery door to turn it on.
The battery door, which houses the battery itself, acts as the on/off switch of your
hearing aid.
So, when we open the battery door and disconnect the circuitry the hearing aid is off.
When you take your hearing aid out of your ear at night time, it's important to turn
your hearing aid off that way you save the battery.
In the mornings when you're going to put your hearing aid on your ear and start listening
for the day, you'll close that battery door and the hearing aid will turn on.
Batteries for hearing aids should be stored at room temperature.
They normally have a long shelf life of about two to three years and storing them at room
temperature is optimal for the battery's life.
We often get asked if batteries should be stored in a refrigerator and the answer for
hearing aid batteries is actually no.
Hearing aid batteries should not be stored in a refrigerator because some moisture could
get into those little holes behind the tab of the hearing aid battery, so room temperature
would be best.
It's important to note that hearing aid batteries actually have two different sides to them
and you need to know which side is up.
So, I'm going to take an example of the orange battery now and take it out of the package.
When you remove the sticker off the battery, the sticker always comes off the flat side
of the battery.
That's actually called the positive side.
So notice that one side of the battery is entirely flat.
The other side of the battery has a little lip to it or almost like a ridge.
So, there's one raised side and one flat side.
It's important to know and ask your hearing healthcare provider which way is the best
way to insert your hearing aid battery into your hearing aid.
If it's not inserted correctly.
So, I happen to know that when I put this battery in this hearing aid, the flat side
needs to go up, which I've done and now my hearing aid will be able to work.
Another common question about hearing aid batteries is how long they last.
The answer really depends on the type of hearing aid battery you have, the type of hearing
aid you have and also the number of hours that you're going to where your hearing aid
for.
The smallest type of battery is the yellow battery.
The yellow battery is the smallest and therefore, it doesn't last very long.
Someone who's going to use their hearing aid all day long will probably only get about
four or five days out of this type of hearing aid battery.
The other three hearing aid batteries will likely last you about 7-10 days.
But, again it really all depends on your hearing loss, the hearing aid you're using and the
number of hours of use each day.
About a week we say on average.
Some of our patients who have issues with their fingers, perhaps some dexterity issues
or arthritis may find handling these tiny hearing aid batteries a little bit difficult.
Certainly I can assure you that it will get better with time and practice.
With that being said, there's a couple of tricks to consider using.
First of all, like I said, practice makes perfect.
So, the more you do it the better you be at it.
One trick may be to ask a friend or a family member to help you, somebody who doesn't have
any issues with their dexterity.
Another trick though involves the use of a magnet.
All hearing aids come with little cleaning kits and they will include a magnetic device
of some sort.
In this case I've got a little stick with a magnet on the end.
Now hearing aid batteries are magnetic.
So, I can use this little tool to easily remove the battery from the hearing aid.
Another thing to consider is the size of the battery.
As you can see and as we've discussed, there are four different sizes.
Certainly, the bigger sizes are going easier to handle.
So, it's important to talk to your hearing healthcare provider about finding the right
hearing aid battery size and the right hearing aid size that's going to work best for your
dexterity.
Ultimately, we want you to be using these hearing aids every single day with great success
and we want to do whatever we can to get you there.
I'm Tracy Saunders, Audiologist with Hearing Solutions.
Thanks for listening today and learning all about batteries.
We'll see you soon.