Even though it seems to be a simple question to ask just how long hearing aid batteries should be expected to last, it isn’t. Precisely how long hearing aid batteries last is determined by quite a few variables. One consideration is the company manufacturing the hearing aid. Battery life differs by manufacturer and also by model from the same manufacturer. The way you use your hearing aid will also impact battery life; the more hours a day it is turned on, the more rapidly you will consume batteries.
There are even varying battery lives in the same size of hearing aid battery depending on the manufacturer, and depending on whether you are buying that manufacturer’s “premium” line or their “normal” line of batteries. Some batteries will not begin to deplete their stored energy unless they are plugged into a hearing aid that is turned on, but some (such as zinc-air batteries) will start to lose power the instant you remove the adhesive tab on the bottom of the battery, and will continue to lose power even if the hearing aid is not on.
If you are in the market for a new hearing aid, you may wish to do some research in advance to see which have the best ratings for battery life, because that could influence your decision about which type or which model of hearing aid to buy. The same research suggestion is true if you have an existing hearing aid and are searching for the batteries with the best performance for it; you can learn a great deal from consumer ratings and comparative reviews.
Fortunately, when shopping for hearing aid batteries, the companies that manufacturer them have made things a lot simpler for you by standardizing their sizes and color-coding each size; the identical color codes are used by all manufacturers. The following list of battery life is an approximation, of course, but it should give you a general idea of how long batteries of each size should last:
- 80 hours – #10 – Yellow
- 175 hours – #312 – Brown
- 240 hours – #13 – Orange
- 300 hours – #675 – Blue
Don’t forget to turn your hearing aid off when you aren’t wearing it for the longest battery life. To ensure the longest shelf life for batteries you’ve purchased but haven’t used yet, store them indoors, at room temperature, and in their original, unopened packaging.
