Best Hearing Aids for Active Lifestyles
May 17, 2016Why You Shouldn’t Kiss Babies’ Ears
June 23, 2016Benefits of Rechargeable Hearing Aid Batteries
There is no question that today’s hearing aids have become more powerful and integrative with other technologies. While these advances have exponentially increased the performance and convenience of hearing aid devices, they also create an exponential surge in power needs for the hearing aids.
The Problem with Disposable Batteries
Zinc-air disposable batteries are today’s standard. These batteries have an advantage of having to carry only one of its active materials, zinc, while the other, oxygen, comes from the atmosphere. However, these batteries are generally capable of sustaining only low levels of current without significant loss in energy capacity.
Performance is also affected by external conditions, such as humidity, altitude, and temperature. Once these batteries are activated by means of removing the adhesive tab covering the holes, the cell has a relatively short span of time for use before becoming inactive, requiring disposal and replacement within 3 to 10 days on average.
Frequent battery changes can be frustrating; especially for hearing aid wearers with dexterity issues and battery death can happen at inconvenient and inopportune moments. When you consider the rapid infiltration of wireless communications and device connectivity technology into new hearing aids, the frequency of battery replacement will become increasingly more significant.
Benefits of Rechargeable Batteries
The obvious solution is, of course, rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable batteries have been around for over 30 years. Only recently has rechargeable battery technology advanced to be able to meet current cosmetic demands while powerful enough for today’s feature-loaded hearing devices.
Rechargeable batteries for hearing aids and other devices have a number of advantages over disposables:
Comfort and ease of use – Just drop your hearing aid into a charging station, no need to remove and replace tiny batteries constantly.
Environmental Impact – Most disposable batteries end up in landfills.
Cost and Convenience – Although initial cost can be higher, over time, the cost can be far less and the convenience of not having to purchase disposable batteries is huge.
Safety – Disposable batteries are easily dropped and can be dangerous or even fatal to pets and children if ingested, and some are flammable.
Ease of Mind and Flexibility – Knowing that your hearing aid battery will last through important events.
Until fairly recently, most rechargeable hearing aid batteries were Nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH). These batteries have a comparable initial cost to disposable batteries, but have certain failings. One is capacity fading – which means that the life of the battery is reduced each time the battery is charged and discharged. Therefore, they need to be replaced annually, and can result in higher costs overall. Another is a short battery life – NiMH rechargeable batteries are typically unable to provide enough energy to last a full day for many hearing devices.
Silver-zinc (AgZn) battery technology has been used by NASA and the military for years. The early batteries took advantage of silver-zinc’s high energy density, but were not viable for commercial use generally because of the limited number of recharges each battery could hold.
Make the Switch to ZPower!
In response to these limitations, and at the request of several hearing aid makers, ZPower, has taken silver-zinc battery technology to the next level. ZPower’s Rechargeable Hearing System for Hearing Aids is the result of over 7 years of development and testing to bring a superior, unmatched micro battery technology to the market, which exceeds the performance, safety and environmental benefits of any other rechargeable micro battery.
Important Highlights
- At Least 40% more capacity over other rechargeable batteries.
- Achieves 400+ recharges without losing significant energy storage.
- Safe, water-based, non-flammable electrolyte.
- Complete in-house recycling process, a single pair can keep more than 200 disposable batteries out of the landfill.
- Made in the USA, from start to finish!
ZPower’s rechargeable hearing aid batteries are considered a game changer, making a phenomenal difference in the quality of experience for hearing aid wearers. ZPower Rechargeable Hearing Aid Batteries are available for many makes and models of today’s highest quality hearing aids, such as Phonak, ReSound, and Siemens.
Learn more about rechargeable hearing aid batteries here. To find out if your hearing aids are ZPower compatible, ask us at Arizona Balance and Hearing Aids.