What is the norm

[wacyone]

I have had my HA's about 6 weeks now.The first several sets of batteries lasted about 9 days which I think is good.They are 312 in Miracle-Ear ME 5100.My question is that today when I heard the low battery sound within an hour they were dead.My first sets lasted 2-3 hours after the sound.These batteries are the Rayovac Proline Advanced.Can differant things change the quickness of going dead?

[Um bongo]

I have had my HA's about 6 weeks now.The first several sets of batteries lasted about 9 days which I think is good.They are 312 in Miracle-Ear ME 5100.My question is that today when I heard the low battery sound within an hour they were dead.My first sets lasted 2-3 hours after the sound.These batteries are the Rayovac Proline Advanced.Can differant things change the quickness of going dead?

The end of life voltage decay does vary from brand to brand, but the biggest difference is usually heat. A 20C change in temperature increases the decay rate by 4 times as the chemical reaction which establishes the voltage doubles with every 10 degree C change.

[hamjor]

Based on my experience only with one model I own and a different model I demo-ed, some variation in this is normal and you won't generally know why the batteries died sooner or later after the warning tone. On the model I own now, battery life in one of the two batteries (I switch both batteries when the first one dies) after the warning tone has been 10-60 minutes, with 20-30 minutes of remaining life most common. But the other model I demo-ed, same 312 batteries, they would sound the warning tone 12-18 hours before battery death. Weird, I know, but that's what I got in a one-month demo.

[BigH]

WOW....8-9 days! My batteries only last 3. I get about 30 minutes after the warning tone. My HA's are Phonak S 9 with Rayovac Proline 312 batteries.

[Evil Scientist]

There is no norm here. Depends on your individual power needs. If you hear the warning tone and your aids are really busy, the battery will die quickly. The opposite is true if your aid is not all that busy. I've had a battery last upto 6-8 hours post-warning tone and I've had a battery die 10 minutes after the warning tone. It's variable, but on average, I get about 1-2 hours warning to change my cells. I use Power-One batteries (Size 13).

Probably also some variation in the decay of the battery. As previously posted, temperature may be an issue. So may be humidity. Bottom line: These batteries are designed to work at full power until they die. This is very different from alkaline batteries which slowly loose power.

As it is so variable, always a good idea to have a set of spare batteries on you as a backup. Just be careful not to short them out!

[Screwy]

It depends on a lot of factors. The batteries themselves can be different even if they are of the same model. The bigger batteries hold more energy and usually last long.

The hearing aids also play a part. The power consumption varies between manufacturers and models.

Usage. if you were to use more of the wireless function, the battery life will be shorter. The environment also play a part. A hearing aid in a noisy environment will use more power.

[Joanne L W]

I have found that it does depend on the make of the battery as well as the power the HA is using. I get my batteries from the NHS and have noticed that they are lasting a lot less than usual. The Audio said that they were getting the same reports from everyone - but they were buying cheaper ones. It also depends on the batch and where the batteries have been stored. I have Oticon Spirit Zest Power and the batteries last 7 days, they used to last nearly 2 weeks when they supplied a previous brand (and I have them on 12 hours a day). I usually get an hour's warning before they die (but this even varies between the two HA's I use, even though I always change them at the same time.) The audio told me that you always get what you pay for - and as the NHS is free, I suppose I can't complain :)

[Um bongo]

I have found that it does depend on the make of the battery as well as the power the HA is using. I get my batteries from the NHS and have noticed that they are lasting a lot less than usual. The Audio said that they were getting the same reports from everyone - but they were buying cheaper ones. It also depends on the batch and where the batteries have been stored. I have Oticon Spirit Zest Power and the batteries last 7 days, they used to last nearly 2 weeks when they supplied a previous brand (and I have them on 12 hours a day). I usually get an hour's warning before they die (but this even varies between the two HA's I use, even though I always change them at the same time.) The audio told me that you always get what you pay for - and as the NHS is free, I suppose I can't complain :)

You see, an accountant reviewed the pricing and worked out they could 'save' 10% by doing a cheaper deal in the light of the austerity measures going on.

The fact that they have 60% of the life is neither here nor there to them - that's before considering the stocking, distribution and issuing is now also 40% less efficient. Thereby completely negating the original 'saving' achieved.

[Evil Scientist]

You see, an accountant reviewed the pricing and worked out they could 'save' 10% by doing a cheaper deal in the light of the austerity measures going on.

The fact that they have 60% of the life is neither here nor there to them - that's before considering the stocking, distribution and issuing is now also 40% less efficient. Thereby completely negating the original 'saving' achieved.

It's a bureaucracy....what do you expect??!!?? Logic??

[seb]

Warning, Government and bean counters at work!

[zafdor]

I have found that it does depend on the make of the battery as well as the power the HA is using.

Maybe, maybe not. Conditions the battery experienced before you pull the tab off can affect it's life. The only way to objectively confirm this would be to get a batch of new batteries of both makes and measure the discharge time. There is probably no way to confirm that the batteries are new (maybe by looking at the expiration date). Someone did do an objective discharge measurement of a number of brands with multiple samples of each and my recollection was there was not significant difference between brands. Search the forum for the data.

P.S. I also have to believe the 'active ingredient' in a hearing aid battery is a very small part of it's cost, so reducing the amount of this probably will not save much money. The US 1 cent piece is made of zinc, and you could make a whole lot of even 675 batteries from one.