7 Hearing aid accessories
Hearing aid accessories required to use your hearing aids depends on the type or model of hearing aid you purchase as well as how you will be using your hearing aids.
Basic Hearing Aid Accessories
The most basic hearing aid accessories required to use your hearing aids are hearing aid batteries. Although rechargeable hearing aids are available on the market, most hearing aids are powered by disposable hearing aid batteries. The size of battery will be one of the following depending upon the size of your hearing aids: 10 (yellow), 13 (orange), 312 (brown) or 675 (blue).
The life of hearing aid batteries depends on the size as well as how long the hearing aid is worn each day; however, on average most hearing aid batteries last on between 5 -14 days based on a 16 hours per day use cycle. Hearing aid batteries will be an ongoing purchase for you in order to use your hearing aids.
Other basic hearing aid accessories will be those provided by your hearing professional such as wax prevention tools, cleaning tools and hearing aid storage cases, which are all typically provided free of charge with the purchase of hearing aids.
Optional Hearing Aid Accessories
There are many other hearing aid accessories available to enhance the use and care of your hearing aids. The following are a few of the most common used and are by no means "required" to use your hearing aids.
Hearing Aid Battery Testing Device & Battery Carriers
Many advanced hearing aids on the market today provide a low battery warning to the user when the battery is near exhausting so they know when to change the battery. However for persons who do not have this feature or want to ensure their hearing aid batteries still have plenty of juice before leaving home, hearing aid battery testing devices are a handy accessory. These devices measure the remaining voltage in a hearing aid battery.
Battery carriers are also a handy accessory to ensure you always have a fresh battery on hand in the event your hearing aid batteries quit on you while out and about.
Hearing Aid Dehumidifier
Over time moisture can cause damage to the internal parts of hearing aids. Hearing aid dehumidifiers are devices that assist in removing moisture from your hearing aids.
Hearing aids are placed in these devices at night with the batteries removed. The use of hearing aid dehumidifiers is recommended for persons living in high humidity or who expose their hearing aids to excessive moisture. Hearing aid dehumidifiers are not required but can assist in the care and longevity of your hearing aids.
Bluetooth Streaming Device
Many of today's advanced digital hearing aids are Bluetooth compatible, meaning they are able to connect wirelessly to various Bluetooth enabled devices such as cell phones, PDAs and computers. Each hearing aid manufacturer offers different Bluetooth solutions, but most often solutions consist of the hearing aid user wearing a Bluetooth streaming device to "stream" output from a Bluetooth enabled device (such as your cell phone) directly to your hearing aids.
Streaming devices are an extra charge and are typically only compatible with certain models.
This list is by no means complete - there are many useful hearing aid accessories available. For more information on the accessories listed or to learn about other accessories compatible with your hearing aids, discuss further with your hearing professional.
