The fall of 2017 was all about rechargeable hearing aids. Oticon, Widex, Starkey, Resound and Unitron all worked with a company called Zpower https://zpowerbattery.com/ to produce a silver-zinc rechargeable battery option for the above-named hearing aid companies. The benefit of this style of battery is that it can be interchanged with a regular disposable battery. Unlike Lithium-ion batteries, the battery is not encased into the hearing aid.
The downside to this style of battery is that about 15-20% of people using them find the batteries are dying after only 6-8 hours of use. Oticon had a solution to change the rechargeable battery door which was an improvement in the battery life for many people. However, some people continue to have difficulties with this type of battery.
Z power has launched a charger firmware update that should be installed into your charger if you are having difficulties with the length of time you are getting from one charge. If you look at your charger, you will see that there is a USB plug that fits into the wall charger. Unplug the cord from the wall plug in and plug the USB end into your computer. Do not put your hearing aids into the charger when updating.
Then you will need to download this firmware updater into your charger. Open the link below to update your charger:
https://zpowerhearing.com/fwupdates/
Other helpful tips include
- Always fully charge the batteries until the light in the charging dock is solid green. This takes approximately 7 hours.
- Wipe off any moisture on the hearing aids or charging dock before charging using a soft tissue. Do not use rubbing alcohol or other chemicals
- If you are not using your hearing aids for an extended period of time, take the batteries out.
Look here for a useful video about best practices for the charging process: