22/02/2010 by John Lloyd.

There are two issues here. 1. Raising awareness to the new mercury free batteries now being supplied by Rayovac, and 2. Ethical disposal of your hearing aid batteries.

Most batteries have until now contained some level of mercury within them, which means that careless disposal of these batteries will eventually lead to the mercury being leaked into the soil. This mercury then gets into our water and food chain and is ingested by us all! Mercury is a highly toxic substance which damages the brain, kidneys and lungs. Symptoms ironically can include hearing impairment; so a viscous cycle for those who have a hearing loss and who don’t consider the implications of where they discard their batteries!

Rayovac now supply mercury free hearing aid batteries which after considerable development are now providing equivalent lifespan of the mercury batteries. It is in the interest of us ALL to use products that DON’T contain mercury, but as with everything these new batteries are slightly more expensive due to the development costs involved.

At Crystal Hearing we already offer a price on our batteries that is barely profitable so we cannot bear this additional cost.

We can supply ‘Rayovac Mercury Free Extra Advanced’ batteries in all sizes for a discount price of £18 per 60 cells

(Click here for the Rayovac website)

There is a new European Batteries Directive being implemented from the 1st February that requires the UK to recycle 25% of portable batteries by 2012. So please help us to do our bit and either dispose of your batteries at your local tip (or any other appropriate recycling point) or if you cannot do this then please save them in a pot/bag and give them to your dispenser so he/she can dispose of them accordingly.

Click here for the our other Hearing Aid Batteries web page.

Crystal Hearing

Discount Hearing

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29/09/2009 by John Lloyd.

Following on from my previous advice about looking after your hearing aids I have found the following item on the RNID website to help protect against moisture problems. This dehumidifier has a specially lined plastic that draws moisture out of the hearing aid - it costs only £5.14p and lasts for 6 months!

This is especially recommended for travelling to hot and humid countries and for anyone who goes camping.

Click here for the link

All the best

John

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23/07/2009 by John Lloyd.

Hearing Aid Maintenance 

You will, on average, wear your hearing aids for 12 hours a day, every day for the next 5 years – this equates to 22,000 hours of use in a hot and humid ear canal, exposed to the elements of life. It is important you maintain them appropriately. 

Fact: Wax and moisture are responsible for about 80% of all faults.

Fact: The microphones or the speakers are changed in about 80% of all repairs. 

Proper maintenance will hopefully prevent you being without your hearing aids. 

The microphone – please use the brush to gently brush over the microphones or blow across the microphones, thereby removing any build up of dust etc. 

The speaker – your hearing aids are fitted with wax guards and these are easily changed. Many new wax guards are now made with nano-coating technology which helps prevent moisture ingress too. The need to change can be anything from twice in a day to once every 2 months. Use the prong on the end of the brush to remove dirt, but DO NOT poke hard into the wax guards. If you have a thin-film guard, simply wipe it. 

The earpiece – we advise all wearers to buy ‘Sterets’ pre-injection swabs from your local chemist and to use these daily to wipe off wax and dirt. Clean well into the grooves.  

Vent holes – for wearers of ITE’s this is the hole that runs through the hearing aid. Push the vent tool through the hole from the faceplate end towards the speaker end. 

Moisture protection – We advise wearers to use dry-pots regularly, especially when camping or on holiday in hot and humid places. Silicone crystals can be purchased off the RNID website, or we can supply the electronic Zephyr Dry Store for £60. See this website for more details…http://www.connevans.co.uk/store/viewProduct.do?id=1977485 

Infections – For people prone to infections, common in swimmers using hearing aids, we recommend an electronic dry-pot with a UV lamp which kills 99.9% of all bacteria. We can supply the Global Dry Store for £100. See this link for more details…http://www.connevans.co.uk/store/viewProduct.do?id=3999 

Batteries – We ask that all hearing aid wearers respect the environment and recycle their batteries. Save them and dispose of them at the tip, or hand them to us to do so. 

More information Please feel free to tell any other wearers you know to join this blog – I will soon be starting Hearing Aid lessons. 

Join the ‘Hearing Aid Forum’ @ http://www.hearingaidforums.com/ - It’s very helpful!

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