Usually the batteries die at the worst time which is even more troubling. Even for rechargeable brands, this is a big problem.

There are things you can do to increase the life of the batteries in hearing aids, so you don’t have to stop and replace them a few times a week. Consider these six straightforward ways you can make those batteries last just a little bit longer.

1. Be a Smart Hearing Aid Consumer

When you first start to shop for your hearing aids is when it all starts. Brand quality and hearing aid features are a couple of the factors which determine battery life. And certain batteries are better than others. Some less expensive hearing devices have low quality parts that work with cheaper cell batteries. You’ll be changing those batteries out all the time, so make sure to talk it over with your hearing specialist.

Think about what features you need, and make some comparisons as you shop around. Wireless versions have batteries that die 2 times as fast as models with wires. The bigger the hearing aid, the longer the battery life, too. These larger devices can potentially go for a couple of weeks without needing new batteries as opposed to the smaller ones which will need battery replacement every couple of days. Get the features you require but understand how each one impacts the power drainage of the hearing aids.

2. The Hearing Aids need to be Stored Properly

To prevent drainage of power you will normally have to open the battery door at night. Also, you will want to:

A dry, cool place is where you should keep the batteries. Battery cells are adversely impacted by high temperature and moisture. Room temperature is fine just keep them out of the sun and away from heat sources include light bulbs.

Also, a dehumidifier is a smart consideration. Both the batteries and the hearing aid itself are protected in this way. Their delicate components are easily destroyed by moisture in the air.

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3. Take Precautions When Changing the Batteries

Begin with clean, dry hands. The life of the battery is adversely impacted by humidity, dirt, and grease. Until it’s time to use the batteries, be sure to leave the plastic tabs in place. The latest hearing aid batteries mix zinc with the air to power on. You don’t want that to happen before you are ready.

It is worth letting them sit out for five minutes after you remove the tab but before you put them in. The battery could be prolonged by days if you do this.

4. Play Around With Different Batteries and Battery Sources

Quality batteries have a longer life than bargain ones, obviously. Think about not only the brands, though, but what types of hearing aid batteries you’re using and where you purchase them, as well. If you buy in bulk, you can get good batteries for less at some big box stores.

If you buy them online, especially from auction sites like eBay, use caution. Batteries have an expiration date that they need to be sold by. Once they expire, they shouldn’t be used.

Ask your hearing specialist for advice on where to find batteries at affordable prices.

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5. Be Ready For The Inevitable

Sooner or later, the batteries are going to quit. If you don’t want to find yourself in a pinch, it’s better to get an idea when this will happen. To keep track of when the batteries fizzle and need to be replaced, make a schedule. You’ll get an idea of when you need to replace them over time.

A diary will also assist you in figuring out which brands are right for your hearing devices and what features have the biggest affect on the battery life.

6. Consider the Alternatives to Batteries

Some current day hearing aids are rechargeable and that is one of the best features. You could pay a little more for those units, but it will be worth it if you can save money on batteries. If you need a bunch of features such as wireless or Bluetooth, then rechargeable batteries are probably the better choice.

Hearing aids are a considerable investment but the batteries that make them work are too. Extending the life of your batteries and saving cash starts with some due diligence. Contact a hearing aid retailer for some information on what option is best for you.

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Hearing loss is one of the primary symptoms of an infection in the middle ear, but is it permanent? The answer to this question might be more complicated than you think. There are a lot of things going on with ear infections. To understand the risks, you need to know more about the damage these infections can cause and how they affect hearing.

What is Otitis Media?

Put simply, otitis media is an infection of the middle ear. It could be any kind of microorganism causing the infection but bacteria is the most common.

Ear infections are defined by where they occur in the ear. When the infection is in the pinna, or outer ear, or in front of the eardrum, the condition is otitis externa or swimmer’s ear. If the bacterial growth is in the cochlea, the term is labyrinthitis or inner ear infection.

The middle ear consists of the space behind the eardrum but in front of the cochlea. This area houses the three ossicles, or tiny bones, that vibrate the membranes of the inner ear. An infection in this area tends to be very painful because it puts pressure on the eardrum, usually until it breaks. That pressure is also why you can’t hear very well. The infectious material builds up and blocks the ear canal enough to interfere with the movement of sound waves.

The symptoms of a middle ear infection in an adult include:

• Drainage from the ear
• Ear pain
• Diminished hearing

For most people, hearing returns over time. The pressure dissipates and the ear canal opens up. The infection gets resolved and your hearing comes back. There are exceptions, though.

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Chronic Ear Infections

Most people experience an ear infection at least once in their lifetime. For others, the problem becomes chronic, so they have infections over and over. Chronic ear infections can lead to complications that mean a more significant and possibly permanent hearing loss, especially if the problem is left untreated.

Conductive Hearing Loss From Ear Infections

Ear infections can cause conductive hearing loss. In other words, sound waves can’t get to the inner ear at the proper strength. The ear has mechanisms along the canal the amplify the sound wave, so by the time it reaches the tiny hair cells of the inner ear, it is strong enough to cause a vibration. With a conductive hearing loss, something changes along that route and the sound isn’t amplified as much.

Bacteria don’t just sit and behave in the ear when you have an ear infection. They need to eat to survive, so they break down those mechanisms that amplify sound waves. Usually, this kind of damage involves the eardrum and the tiny little bones. The bones are very delicate and it doesn’t take much to break them up. Once they are gone, they stay gone. That’s permanent damage and your hearing won’t return. In some cases, surgeons can install prosthetic bones to restore hearing. The eardrum can repair itself but might have scar tissue affecting its ability to move. Surgery can fix that, as well.

What Can You Do to Prevent This Permanent Hearing Loss?

First and foremost, see a doctor if you think you have an ear infection. The sooner you get treatment, the better. Second, don’t ignore chronic ear infections. The more serious infections you have, the more damage they cause. Finally, take steps to prevent colds, allergies and sinus infections because that is where ear infections usually start. If you are a smoker, now is the time to stop, too, because smoking increases your risk of having chronic respiratory problems.

If you’ve had an ear infection and still are having problems hearing, see your doctor. It is possible you have some damage, but that is not the only thing that causes conductive hearing loss. If it turns out it is permanent, hearing aids will help you hear once again.

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Why do many people decide to simply just live with hearing loss? According to an AARP study, more than one-third of senior citizens consider hearing loss to be a minor issue that can be handled easily enough, while more than half of the respondents cited cost as a concern. However, those costs can rise astronomically when you factor in the serious side effects and conditions that are brought on by ignoring hearing loss. Here are the most common negative effects of ignoring hearing loss.

Fatigue

Most people will not immediately connect the dots from fatigue to hearing loss. Instead, they will attribute fatigue to several different factors, such as slowing down due to aging or a side-effect of medication. The reality is that the less you can hear, the more your body works to make up for it, leaving you feeling tired. Imagine you are taking a test like the SAT where your brain is totally focused on processing the task at hand. Once you’re finished, you probably feel drained. The same thing happens when you struggle to hear: your brain is working to fill in the blanks you’re missing in conversations – which is often made even harder when there is a lot of background noise – and uses up precious energy just trying to process the conversation. This type of chronic fatigue can impact your health by leaving you too tired to take care of yourself, skipping out on things like going to the gym or cooking healthy meals.

Cognitive Decline

Several studies by Johns Hopkins University linked hearing loss to decreased brain functions, accelerated brain tissue loss, and dementia. While these links are correlations instead of causations, researchers believe that, again, the more cognitive resources that are spent trying to fill in the blanks of a conversation, the less there are to focus on other things like memorization and comprehension. And as people age, the increased draw on cognitive resources can speed up the decline of other brain functions and contribute to gray matter loss. In addition, having a regular exchange of ideas and information, often through conversation, is believed to help seniors stay mentally fit and can help slow the process of cognitive decline. The fact that a link was discovered between hearing loss and a decline in cognitive functions is promising for future research, since hearing and cognitive specialists can work together to pinpoint the causes and develop treatments for these ailments.

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Mental Health Issues

The National Council on the Aging conducted a study of 2,300 seniors who suffered some form of hearing loss and discovered that those who left their condition untreated were more likely to also suffer from mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and paranoia, which negatively affected their social and emotional well-being. The link between hearing loss and mental health issues makes sense, since people with hearing loss often have difficulty communicating with others in social or family situations. This can lead to feelings of isolation, which can eventually lead to depression. If left untreated, anxiety and even paranoia can surface due to these feelings of isolation and exclusion. Hearing aids have been shown to aid in the recovery from depression, though anyone suffering from depression, anxiety, or paranoia should consult with a mental health professional.

Heart Disease

Our bodies are one interconnected machine – if one part stops functioning as it should, it could have a negative impact on another seemingly unrelated part. This is the case with our hearts and ears. Case in point, hearing loss will occur when blood does not flow easily from the heart to the inner ear. Diabetes, which is also linked to heart disease, can impact the inner ear’s nerve endings and cause messages sent from the ear to the brain to become scrambled. People who have noticed some degree of hearing loss and who have a history of heart disease or diabetes in their families should consult with both a hearing and cardiac specialist to determine whether the hearing loss is indeed caused by a heart condition, since ignoring the symptoms could lead to serious, possibly fatal consequences.

If you suffer from hearing loss or are experiencing any of the negative effects listed above, please reach out to us so we can help you live a healthier life.

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While it may be true that older hearing aids are better than nothing, chances are what little benefit you get from them comes at a cost. Hearing aid technology has advanced in the last few years. It’s gone from analog to digital, for one thing, and there are features now that weren’t even in the design phase a decade ago. Consider some reasons it is time for you to be thinking about an upgrade.

The Old One is Not That Reliable

Older or even low-quality hearing aids have real problems like that annoying buzz you hear every once in awhile. How about feedback whenever you get close to a phone, that’s a lot of fun. Sometimes that shrill feedback comes out of nowhere, too. What caused it this time?

You’ve Gotten Used to Its Failings

You are used to sitting in quiet self-reflection while everyone around you engages in conversation or wondering why the air conditioning unit so loud. Remember the time your grandchild sang you a great song she learned at school, but you only heard every other word because your hearing aids kept cutting out. You still clapped, though.

These are all failings associated with old hearing aids. Tens years ago the focus was on turning up the volume. Today, hearing aids perform magic tricks like filtering out background noise, so say goodbye to the air conditioner. It was never really that loud.

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The Old Ones are Bleeding Money

Cost is always a factor when it comes to a hearing aid upgrade. The new technology is not cheap, but neither is wearing old, out-of-date hearing aids. Analog devices need new batteries a lot. If you are replacing the battery on a daily basis, or even more often than that, the cost adds up.

Old hearings aids can potentially spend more time at the shop, too. If you think of your hearing aid as a 1992 Buick, you get the idea. It’s in the shop more than it is in your ear and repairs are not cheap.

Smart Technology is a Thing Now

Many modern hearing aids have Bluetooth capabilities. You won’t find that in an analog device. Having Bluetooth built into your digital hearing aid means it’s compatible with your phone, your computer, maybe even your television (unless they’re ten years old, too.)

Communication is the Key to Everything

Studies show that hearing loss can mean a lower paycheck. Doesn’t it make sense then that better hearing aids would be a career asset? You will hear your boss and customers better. You will follow directions without wondering if you got it right and had essential conversations without worrying about whether your hearing aids will hold up or not.

Of course, better communication means a better quality of life, as well. You don’t have to sit like a wallflower in the middle of conversations anymore. Jump in and engage with the people around you.

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You Just Want Your Hearing Aid to be Cooler

When you look in the mirror at your old hearing aid, what words come to mind? Clunky? Obvious? Oh my god? One of the most significant benefits that come with replacing old hearing aids is style and flexibility. Today’s hearing aids come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. You can have one tucked so tight into your ear no one will ever see it, or you can make a fashion statement with a visible hearing aid in your favorite color.

Signs That It’s Time

Now you know all the reasons you should want a hearing aid upgrade, but not what things to specifically look for that say your device is at risk of being called an antique. Here are some telltale signs that the time has come:

• Your hearing has changed. You don’t hear as well as you used to even with the hearing aid in place.
• Your life has changed, and your hearing aid has a hard time keeping up. It’s a pain to take it out just to talk on the phone, or maybe you’ve changed jobs and now have to deal with more background noise.
• Your hearing aid keeps cutting out. It’s just not reliable anymore, and that’s a problem.
• You know for a fact your hearing aid is analog. Ouch, go digital fast.
• Your hearing aid feels heavy. Clunky, old technology weighs a lot.
• Your hearing aid is all you see when you look in a mirror. That old technology takes up a lot of space, too.
• You are replacing the batteries every day. Modern hearing aids are more energy efficient, and some come with rechargeable batteries.

It’s not brain surgery. If you’ve had your hearing aids for more than seven years, time to trade up and hear better.

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