Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 --- You wrote: I see that some of you change (or your kids change) their hearing aid batteries every week. Is that the norm? No one ever suggested to us when to change then, so we usually go two weeks. That " seems " to work for us. But I wonder if maybe the batteries aren't strong enough for that. --- end of quote --- Hi Deb - we change - actually our boys change - their batteries when they die. The guys have gotten good at doing that. It seems like we get maybe 7 days on the 645 batteries but now that both boys have the same battery, it's really hard to tell for sure. Barbara ******************************* Barbara Mellert Manager, Social Science Computing Kiewit Computing Services Dartmouth College 13A Silsby Hall; HB 6121 Hanover NH 03755 Telephone: 603/646-2877 URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ssc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 At 02:23 PM 7/20/04, you wrote: >Funny you should mention this. Just last week I was laughing at my girlfriend for keeping batteries in the fridge. She just looked at me and said, " yea..it makes them last longer " . It does make them last longer, but only a teeny bit longer (about 5% longer), and they have to be warmed up to room temperature before you can use them. It may be worthwhile in a hot climate as batteries discharge faster as the temperature rises. Refrigerating zinc air batteries shortens their life. They are a different type of battery. Barbara Handley Another Path: Homeschooling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children http://www.deafhomeschool.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 At 02:23 PM 7/20/04, you wrote: >Funny you should mention this. Just last week I was laughing at my girlfriend for keeping batteries in the fridge. She just looked at me and said, " yea..it makes them last longer " . It does make them last longer, but only a teeny bit longer (about 5% longer), and they have to be warmed up to room temperature before you can use them. It may be worthwhile in a hot climate as batteries discharge faster as the temperature rises. Refrigerating zinc air batteries shortens their life. They are a different type of battery. Barbara Handley Another Path: Homeschooling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children http://www.deafhomeschool.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 At 02:21 PM 7/20/04, you wrote: >--- You wrote: >I see that some of you change (or your kids change) their hearing aid batteries >every week. Is that the norm? No one ever suggested to us when to change >then, so we usually go two weeks. That " seems " to work for us. But I wonder >if maybe the batteries aren't strong enough for that. A lot of relevant information is being left out of the battery life discussion. What battery type? How powerful are the aids? Are programs changed frequently? Are fm boots that draw power from the aid being used? When my daughter's hearing first started dropping, we upped the gain on her aids. Battery life dropped. Her new, more powerful aids, last for less time on the same batteries as her old aids. We change the batteries when they go dead. Zinc air batteries are designed to work out peak output until they fail (unlike alkaline or nimh and nicds that experiences a slow decline in power output). When I was in charge, I checked the battery power levels each morning. When they became borderline, I'd know they'd go dead soon. Sometimes I'd change them, then, but usually not. I don't think my daughter checks the batteries every morning (she's supposed to), but she notices the second they switch off and she changes the batteries. I always have spares, so it's no big deal. Barbara Handley Another Path: Homeschooling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children http://www.deafhomeschool.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 At 02:21 PM 7/20/04, you wrote: >--- You wrote: >I see that some of you change (or your kids change) their hearing aid batteries >every week. Is that the norm? No one ever suggested to us when to change >then, so we usually go two weeks. That " seems " to work for us. But I wonder >if maybe the batteries aren't strong enough for that. A lot of relevant information is being left out of the battery life discussion. What battery type? How powerful are the aids? Are programs changed frequently? Are fm boots that draw power from the aid being used? When my daughter's hearing first started dropping, we upped the gain on her aids. Battery life dropped. Her new, more powerful aids, last for less time on the same batteries as her old aids. We change the batteries when they go dead. Zinc air batteries are designed to work out peak output until they fail (unlike alkaline or nimh and nicds that experiences a slow decline in power output). When I was in charge, I checked the battery power levels each morning. When they became borderline, I'd know they'd go dead soon. Sometimes I'd change them, then, but usually not. I don't think my daughter checks the batteries every morning (she's supposed to), but she notices the second they switch off and she changes the batteries. I always have spares, so it's no big deal. Barbara Handley Another Path: Homeschooling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children http://www.deafhomeschool.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 > > >Funny you should mention this. Just last week I was laughing at my girlfriend for keeping batteries in the fridge. She just looked at me and said, " yea..it makes them last longer " . > > It does make them last longer, but only a teeny bit longer (about 5% longer), and they have to be warmed up to room temperature before you can use them. > > It may be worthwhile in a hot climate as batteries discharge faster as the temperature rises. > > Refrigerating zinc air batteries shortens their life. They are a different type of battery. > > > Barbara Handley According to the Small Battery Company of London, UK, the reason for NOT putting zinc-air batteries in the fridge is because it doesn't prolong life and " warming them will cause condensation and corrosion. " I found this on the web at: http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/hearing_aid_batteries.htm Speaking of batteries, has anyone with a Nucleus 3G tried the new Rayovac Cochlear Plus 675s? They sound very new. This whole discussion made me place an order for some to check them out. I'll also compare to the Varta Powerone 'Implant Plus' available from Cochlear. (These have been out for a while.) We've only ever used the regular Power One from Varta. Lydia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 > > >Funny you should mention this. Just last week I was laughing at my girlfriend for keeping batteries in the fridge. She just looked at me and said, " yea..it makes them last longer " . > > It does make them last longer, but only a teeny bit longer (about 5% longer), and they have to be warmed up to room temperature before you can use them. > > It may be worthwhile in a hot climate as batteries discharge faster as the temperature rises. > > Refrigerating zinc air batteries shortens their life. They are a different type of battery. > > > Barbara Handley According to the Small Battery Company of London, UK, the reason for NOT putting zinc-air batteries in the fridge is because it doesn't prolong life and " warming them will cause condensation and corrosion. " I found this on the web at: http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/hearing_aid_batteries.htm Speaking of batteries, has anyone with a Nucleus 3G tried the new Rayovac Cochlear Plus 675s? They sound very new. This whole discussion made me place an order for some to check them out. I'll also compare to the Varta Powerone 'Implant Plus' available from Cochlear. (These have been out for a while.) We've only ever used the regular Power One from Varta. Lydia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 > > >Funny you should mention this. Just last week I was laughing at my girlfriend for keeping batteries in the fridge. She just looked at me and said, " yea..it makes them last longer " . > > It does make them last longer, but only a teeny bit longer (about 5% longer), and they have to be warmed up to room temperature before you can use them. > > It may be worthwhile in a hot climate as batteries discharge faster as the temperature rises. > > Refrigerating zinc air batteries shortens their life. They are a different type of battery. > > > Barbara Handley According to the Small Battery Company of London, UK, the reason for NOT putting zinc-air batteries in the fridge is because it doesn't prolong life and " warming them will cause condensation and corrosion. " I found this on the web at: http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/hearing_aid_batteries.htm Speaking of batteries, has anyone with a Nucleus 3G tried the new Rayovac Cochlear Plus 675s? They sound very new. This whole discussion made me place an order for some to check them out. I'll also compare to the Varta Powerone 'Implant Plus' available from Cochlear. (These have been out for a while.) We've only ever used the regular Power One from Varta. Lydia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 We were told once that to run a " power aid " that the battery needs to test at 2 or above on the battery tester. We did notice that Jake heard better when it was 2 or above and asked what more if they were below. Anyone else been told that? This was a while ago, like 6 years with an analog aid. We only use batteries now with his waterproof aid as he refuses to wear his Phonak HA in his unimplanted ear the rest of the time. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 We were told once that to run a " power aid " that the battery needs to test at 2 or above on the battery tester. We did notice that Jake heard better when it was 2 or above and asked what more if they were below. Anyone else been told that? This was a while ago, like 6 years with an analog aid. We only use batteries now with his waterproof aid as he refuses to wear his Phonak HA in his unimplanted ear the rest of the time. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 The Rayovacs also last longer for my daughter than the Duracells do. But, I have noticed a big difference in how long the batteries last depending on whether she is using her FM. I can't tell if high-noise environments also effect battery life since she might go over a week between changing batteries. Interestingly, loud noise such as a carnival or a party will drain my son's CI batteries much faster than usual. , mom to (12,HAs), (10,no loss) and (6, CI 7/99, reimplanted 1/04) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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