It is not easy to offer a definitive answer to the question “Which hearing aid battery kind do I need?” because hearing aid types and styles vary widely, and so do the batteries that they use to power them. For anybody that currently wears a hearing aid the user manual should clearly specify which battery size is required. Conversely you may get in touch with the hearing care professional that sold you the device to ask. For anyone purchasing a first hearing aid you will be able to discover a lot with a little bit of research. The reason for this is that hearing aid batteries vary in price and in battery lifespan, and so an estimate of how many of them you will need over time can affect your choice of which hearing aid to buy.
The makers of hearing aids and hearing aid batteries have made life easier for you by creating a standardized color coding system, to help make finding the right size easier. The sizes and types are all standard across manufacturers, so the color on the packaging is a dependable indicator of the battery size and type.
Most likely your hearing aid will run on one of these 4 types:
Size 10 hearing aid batteries are identified with a yellow color code, and are the most common nowadays, being used in many In-The-Canal (ITC) and Completely-In-Canal (CIC) styles; due to their smaller size, they have an approximated battery life of about 80 hours.
The color orange always means Size 13 batteries. These batteries are intermediate in size and hold a charge for approximately 240 hours. This size battery is commonplace in In-the-Ear (ITE) and Behind-the-Ear (BTE) hearing aids.
A color code of blue always identifies Size 675 batteries, which are generally used in cochlear implants or larger Behind-The-Ear (BTE) type hearing aids; these batteries have an average battery life of 300 hours.
A color code of brown signifies a Size 312 battery, generally found in In-The-Ear (ITE) and In-The-Canal (ITC) models of hearing aids; due to their smaller size they have a battery life near 175 hours.
These four battery types address most hearing aids, however there are some exceptions that necessitate different batteries. If yours requires one of these different types, most retailers that sell batteries can order them for you.
Before stocking up on batteries, be sure you read the manual that came with your unit to make sure it doesn’t run on rechargeable batteries; if it does, you need disposable batteries only as back-up. To keep your hearing aid batteries fresh and fully charged after you buy them, always store them in the original unopened packages at room temperature.