Digital Hearing Aid Batteries
Batteries are what make your digital hearing aid work so you'll need to change them on a regular basis. How often it needs changing depends on the type of hearing aid you have and how long you have it switched on for during the day. The more powerful the aid the more frequently you'll need to change it. On average expect to change your battery every 5 to 7 days, though for something small and basic you might manage a couple of weeks.
The most important thing you need to remember is the size of battery you need. To make things simple you'll find that they are colour coded e.g. brown, yellow, etc. Just pick a pack with the right colour on it and it will fit your hearing aid.
You'll find that the majority of digital hearing batteries are of the button cell Zinc Air type. Basically the battery works by mixing zinc with air and for this reason when you buy your batteries never take the plastic tab off the back of the battery until you are ready to insert it into your hearing aid. Removing the tab activates the zinc air reaction and starts to deplete the battery. Unfortunately sticking the tab back on won't deactivate the battery, it'll just keep going until the it's completely drained.
As long as you haven't activated them you can expect unused hearing aid batteries to last up to three years without too much deterioration in their performance. Remember not to store them anywhere too cold or too hot.
Zinc air batteries die quite suddenly. Unlike conventional batteries their performance is steady until they stop working so you won't get any warning that the battery is about to go flat. After you've worn your digital hearing aid for awhile you'll know just how long you can expect to go between changes and might decide to have a regular day for changing them. Then again you might just want to change them when they go flat simply because it only takes a minute or two to change. Which ever system you choose it's always good to carry a couple of backup digital hearing aid batteries around with you.
Yes it is simple to change the battery in a hearing aid but is difficult to explain in words along hence the video below. There are a couple of points to remember. If you've put your battery in the wrong way then the little flap won't shut, which is why you can't go wrong. The other thing is that if your fingers are not very dexterous then you should consider getting someone else to do it for you.