Even though the battery life for hearing aids might seem a straightforward question to answer, in truth it varies according to a variety of factors. Just how long a battery lasts is dependent upon who manufactured it, and may even vary between different hearing aid models from the exact same manufacturer. How you use your hearing aid will also affect battery life; the more hours a day yours is turned on, the more often you will use up batteries.

Additionally, there are differences in battery life across battery manufacturers, and the exact same manufacturer may offer different lines of batteries, some that last for a longer period of time than others. Battery life also hinges on battery type; for example some varieties are only being drained when they are inside a hearing aid that is switched on, and other varieties (such as, zinc-air batteries) start losing stored energy as soon as you take away the adhesive strip on the bottom of the battery and they’re in contact with oxygen, whether the hearing aid is on or not.

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 purchase. In the same way, a little time invested in research may help you uncover better batteries for your existing hearing aids. To make things somewhat easier for you, hearing aid batteries are available in 4 common sizes, each of which is marked with a specific color code, which is always the same no matter who the manufacturer is. The following list of battery life is an approximation, of course, but it may give you a general idea of how long hearing aid batteries of each size should last:

• 80 hours – #10 – Yellow
• 175 hours – #312 – Brown
• 240 hours – #13 – Orange
• 300 hours – #675 – Blue

To ensure the longest life for your batteries when they’re in the hearing aid, turn the hearing aid off when you are not wearing it. And to make sure batteries you’ve already bought but have not used yet stay fresh and retain their power as long as possible, store them indoors in their original unopened packages, and at room temperature.