"Implant" batteries

[leapyrtwins]

Heard from my audiologist yesterday.  Apparently the idea of the "implant" batteries I was given by the Cochlear rep was incorrect.

My audi tells me that her contact @ Cochlear said that there is no such thing as "implant" batteries for BAHAs and that conventional hearing aid batteries are perfectly fine.

In the meantime, the problem seems to have solved itself.  No "false" beeping now for the past 2 days.

But in the meantime, I did receive 12 free, premium batteries from Cochlear 

Perhaps I'll include 6 of them in the next Official BAHA Recovery Kit.  Are you reading this, Meagan? 

Jan

[Kencutus]

So what are you saying, Hearing aid or Implant batteries are the same thing?  They just change the name for marketing gimmick and to confuse the consumers? 

[Paul F]

Ken,

My research shows only the p675 battery as an implant battery.  You and I have the BAHA Intenso which uses this and it is designed for extra power.

Paul

[leapyrtwins]

Ken -

apparently my Cochlear customer service rep was confused.  She is more familiar with CIs and didn't realize that BAHAs are different when it comes to batteries.

She also didn't realize that the Intenso takes different batteries than the Divino, the BP100 and the BP3.

As you know, until recently, Cochlear had a bigger focus on Cochlear Implants than BAHA implants.  Thankfully us BAHA wearers are now getting more attention.

There IS justice in the world!   

Jan

[wendysig]

Jan,

I know your problem with batteries seems to be solved, but just FYI, I personally found that PowerOne (these are the batteries that Cochlear included when I got my BAHA) batteries did work better for me than just any old battery.  I buy them over the internet from a site called microbattery.com.  I get 60 batteries for $24.95 plus shipping and handling (I don't remember how much it was, but not much).  In my opinion PowerOne is superior to Duracell or other batteries and not badly priced if you buy them this way.  Since I change my battery every week to ten days, a case lasts over a year.

Wendy

[leapyrtwins]

Thanks for the input, Wendy.

I should have updated this thread about a week ago.

I've been using the batteries that Cochlear sent me and honestly I haven't seen a big difference between them and the Duracell batteries I usually buy at my local Walmart.  The sound from my processor is just as good, they last just as long, etc.

I think the low battery beeping problem I was experiencing was related to my BP100 "reprogramming" itself.  One day while driving to work with my iPod on (I have an adapter for my car) I realized that my BP100 was beeping in response to certain musical notes in certain songs.  Over time, it's stopped doing this.

I remember that when I first got my BP100 it used to beep in accompaniment with the seat belt reminder beeps in my car.  After a few days that stopped.

The BP100 will beep in response to "strange" noises it encounters (like the sound of the beeps on your microwave, etc) until it realizes that these are "normal" sounds in your world.

In the past week I have had absolutely no false low-battery warning beeps from my BP100.

I think the program is solved - or at least, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Jan

[dalern]

Here I am in Africa, and the past few days, I have had a terrible beeping and whistling problem.  I had changed the battery 5 days earloier when this first happened, so I thought maybe I had a bad battery.  I tossed it and put in a new one.  However, I am still beeping away.  Like you, Jan, I was upgraded to the BP3 and reprogrammed.  I do have an appointment anyway with my audiologist the week after I return.  It is so annoying!!!!
~Dale

[Tracy Lynn]

Hmm, good to know. I was curious what people's opinions on the battery subject were.

My mother works at a pharmacy and has already told me that she will let me know when there are good deals afoot so I can plan my purchasing.

I may look into trying to find a battery tester too.

[leapyrtwins]

Dale -

are you running into sounds in Africa that are "foreign" to you and your every day life back home?

If so, you'll find that your BP100 beeps for a while but after the sounds become "routine" it will stop beeping.

If you continue to experience the problem when you get home, definitely go see your audiologist.

Jan

[dalern]

Jan,
No, not really any new sounds.  I get that low battery beep every couple of hours, sometimes more frequently.  In addition, I get a whistling.  I just wonder if all the people around me hear it too!
~Dale

[keithk]

Has anyone tried the accu plus from Power One? It is a rechargable battery for hearing aids.

[keithk]

I did a little more research on the rechargable batteries. The charger is aroung $170 from Amazon. At that price compared to the cost of 60 batteries it would take over 10 years to break even.

[dalern]

I found Amazon to be the cheapest.  I got 60 batteries for under $20
~Dale