Two of the biggest buzz words in hearing aids are rechargeability and Bluetooth. Both make me smile….and cringe! As with most things, there are pros and cons to both.
Let’s start with rechargeable hearing aids. Most of the hearing aids I fit these days are rechargeable. It is hard to get past the convenience of not fiddling with tiny batteries. With rechargeable hearing aids, you just pop them on a charger when you go to bed and they are ready to go in the morning. Because there is no battery door, they are more water tight. No more batteries dying in the middle of a movie or at church! The cons are that you must carry a charger and cord when you travel and when the battery does eventually die, we have to send them to the manufacturer to have it replaced. In most cases this is a one-to-two-week trip.
Now let’s talk about Bluetooth. Bluetooth is great…when it works! Most of today’s hearing aids have the ability to connect with cell phones to use the phone as remote control to adjust the hearing aids, and sometimes to stream phone calls, music, and podcasts directly to the hearing aids. This can sometimes help you understand phone conversations better. The negatives are that constant connection to the phone can have a higher drain on battery and that any wireless connection is at the mercy of the phone company and service. Also, when the phone companies update the operating systems of the phone, there can be hiccups in connection until the hearing aid manufacturers figure out what they changed. All in all, hearing aids work whether you own a cell phone or not and you do not have to connect to your phone if you do not want to.
Gardner Audiology doctors are experts in rechargeable and Bluetooth hearing aids. Mail info@gardneraudiology.com.
