IPAT works with many people who experience hearing loss, and as a result wear hearing aids.
As a hearing aid wearer myself, I am familiar with the need to frequently change batteries and the corresponding cost. When information about an 8th grader’s discovery to extend the life of hearing aid batteries was shared with IPAT, I decided to put the discovery to the test.
The discovery was the result of a study done by Ethan Manuell, of Rochester, Minnesota. He looked into the effect wait time has on the life of hearing aid batteries. For those not familiar with wearing hearing aids, wait time is the time between removing the sticker on the battery and placing the battery in the hearing aid. He found that waiting 5 minutes between removing the sticker and placing the battery in the hearing aid improved the battery life up to 80%.
I have put his five-minute-rule to the test for over a month, and discovered I too extended the life of my batteries! I use between 8 and 10 batteries per month, so when I can get an extra day or two from each, that five-minute wait represents a significant cost savings over the period of a year. So if you wear hearing aids, or know someone that does, pass on this little trick and save them some cash.