ZPower, Camarillo, Calif, developer of rechargeable, silver-zinc batteries for hearing aids, announced it will lead a presentation on the many advantages of rechargeable power for hearing aid wearers during the AudiologyNOW! 2015 Conference, being held from March 25-28 in San Antonio, Tex. The company says its presentation, titled “Rechargeable Solutions: New Advances in Rechargeable Technology,” will provide details of an innovative approach to delivering rechargeable power. The presentation will occur as part of the “Amplification and Assistive Devices” Track on March 27th in room 216 from 4:30-5:30pm.

Barry A. Freeman, PhD

Barry A. Freeman, PhD, vice president of business development at ZPower

Barry A. Freeman, PhD, vice president of business development for ZPower, and Troy Renken, vice president of product planning and electronics for ZPower, will lead the presentation. Among topics to be discussed include the benefits of rechargeable HA batteries for patients, audiologists, and the environment.

“Audiologists who attend the session will walk away with a greater understanding of the value of rechargeable technology and will learn about a method of easily converting new and existing hearing aids to make them rechargeable for those with hearing loss today,” said Dr Freeman. “We’ll discuss the electroacoustics of hearing aids powered by traditional disposable zinc-air batteries versus those powered by silver-zinc rechargeable batteries, and the environmental advantages of the fully recyclable silver-zinc rechargeable battery.”

Troy Renken

Troy Renken, vice president of product planning and electronics at ZPower

According to the company, ZPower rechargeable batteries allow the average patient with wireless binaural hearing devices to use just two batteries per year, as opposed to 150-200 traditional disposable batteries per year. Today, it is estimated that 1.5 billion zinc-air hearing aid batteries are dropped into landfills each year. In contrast, ZPower silver-zinc batteries are fully recyclable.

Dr Freeman explained that disposable hearing aid batteries are used by people with varying levels of dexterity, and they often run out of power in the middle of the day, requiring frequent changing. The company said that there is a high demand for a rechargeable solution for hearing aids.

Source: ZPower