We think the best rechargeable hearing aids are made by Jabra, a high-end, over-the-counter hearing aid brand.
Hearing aids with rechargeable batteries cost anywhere from $99–$7,000 per pair.
Most rechargeable hearing aid batteries will last 15–30 hours between charges.
1,000+ Hours of Research
20 brands considered
25 experts consulted
Table of Contents
Rechargeable hearing aids are convenient and easy to use. Many rechargeable models also help you save money over time by not requiring a constant supply of disposable batteries.
We conducted a survey of 600 hearing aid users and found that rechargeability was the No. 2 most desired feature in a hearing aid, right behind “digital noise reduction.” We put in the legwork to find the best, most affordable rechargeable models on the market. As an added benefit, all of these devices are among the best over-the-counter hearing aids, so you can get them without a prescription. Here’s what we found.
Longest warranty of any online hearing aid manufacturer with the premium package
Excellent customer service
Free remote support from the audiology care team for three years with the premium package
100-day trial period
Cons
Only sold online (no in-person support offered)
Only appropriate for mild to moderate hearing loss
Why Jabra makes the best rechargeable hearing aids for seniors
Jabra Enhance is a company known for its excellent customer care and the option of a warranty that’s longer than most other online hearing aid brands. Jabra Enhance hearing aids are also sold online, but their supportive remote audiology team is incredibly helpful when you run into issues, making them an excellent choice for older adults who aren’t as comfortable with high-tech devices and impressing us enough to earn the top spot in our best hearing aids list.
Jabra features
Hearing aid style: Receiver-in-canal, mini receiver-in-ear
Bluetooth and mobile app capabilities: Yes
Standard warranty: 3 years
Our experience with Jabra
Jabra Enhance carries three models with rechargeable batteries: the Enhance Select 500, the Enhance Select 300, and the Enhance Select 50R, which can be purchased with the basic or premium package.
Basic package:
OTC hearing aids
One-year warranty with loss and damage protection
Premium package:
OTC hearing aids
Three-year warranty with loss and damage protection
Three-year access to professional hearing care
The Select 500 costs $1,795 for the basic package and $1,995 for the premium package, while the Select 300 costs $1,495 for the basic package and $1,695 for the premium package. The higher price tag for the Select 500 gives you a model with advanced speech processing, a micro-sized device, and tap controls.
The Jabra Enhance mobile app connects to the Jabra Enhance hearing aids via Bluetooth. The app shows you the battery level of each hearing aid and allows you to choose from seven different environmental settings (see Figure 1):
All-around
Restaurant
Outdoor
Music
TV1
TV2
Microphone
Adjusting sound settings in the Jabra Enhance app
You can also use the app to customize each setting by changing the balance of bass and treble sounds. If you’re having trouble adjusting them to suit your needs, you can request hearing care assistance through the app and receive instructions from the audiology care team. The app can also help find your Jabra Enhance hearing aids with the use of GPS if you misplace them.
The Jabra Enhance charging case is rechargeable and holds three full charges (a total of 90 hours). That means you can charge your hearing aids three times before the charging case needs to be plugged in. This feature is convenient when traveling on short trips. You can bring your case with you and place your hearing aids in the case each night before you sleep, and they’ll be ready to go the next morning.
Jabra Enhance also has a quick charge option, something not every hearing aid offers. You can get 15 hours of hearing aid use with one hour of quick charge.
Customer service
Connect with Jabra’s Customer Support at jabraenhance.com.
Payment options
Credit card
PayPal
FSA and HSA cards
Financing options
Third-party lender Bread, which offers 12-, 18-, and 36-month payment plans
While Jabra Enhance has a lot to offer, it provides only online services. If you feel you would benefit from an in-person hearing exam or support from a hearing care clinic after you buy your hearing aids, you may want to consider a different brand, such as Phonak or ReSound. You can learn more in our Jabra Enhance review.
Audien Hearing
Most Affordable
Audien Atom Pro 2
Price per pair: $189-$689
Maximum battery life: 16 hours
Pros
Lowest price of any rechargeable hearing aid currently on the market
Small in-the-canal style is barely noticeable
Cons
Multiple hearing profiles not available
Not water resistant
No financing options
Why Audien is the most affordable rechargeable hearing aid
Audien is best known for being one of the lowest-priced hearing aid on the market. Despite the lower cost, Audien has come out with quality models with advanced technology and competitive features in recent years.
Audien features
Hearing aid style: Receiver-in-canal
Bluetooth and mobile app capabilities: Yes
Standard warranty: 2 years
Our experience with Audien
At this price, Audien doesn’t offer the same level of technology you’d find in a higher-end hearing aid like Phonak or ReSound. But the battery life of Audien devices is better than some more expensive hearing aids, with the Atom Pro, Atom Pro 2, and Ion holding 24 hours of charge and the Ion Pro lasting up to 48 hours. The charging case also holds four days of charge before needing to be plugged in, so you can carry your charging case with you and recharge your hearing aids wherever you go.
The Atom 2 is the brand’s most affordable model at $189, but there are three other models to choose from, going up to $689 for the Ion Pro.
Audien has come a long way in recent years, improving their user experience and tech capabilities by leaps and bounds. Just last year the least expensive model had a tiny screwdriver that came with the device for volume changes. Now, all models include the simple tap or app adjustments used by most other hearing aids on the market. These changes elevated Audien to a top spot on our list of the best affordable hearing aids.
The Ion Pro is the only model that offers Bluetooth streaming, so if that feature is important to you, you’re going to have to pay for the priciest model.
Phone: 205-255-1112, 7 a.m to 4 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday
Payment options
Credit card
Eargo
Best Invisible
Eargo 7
Price per pair: $799–$2,699
Maximum battery life: 16 hours
Pros
45-day trial period
Unlimited 1–2 year warranty (length varies by model)
Lifetime support from licensed hearing professionals for as long as you own the hearing aids
Cons
Only available in one brick and mortar store
Shorter battery life than other hearing aids
Why Eargo is the best Invisible rechargeable hearing aids
Eargo is one of the few completely-in-canal hearing aids with rechargeable batteries, which makes it stand out as one of the best invisible hearing aids with that feature. Because completely-in-canal hearing aids are so small (small enough to fit entirely within your ear canal), it’s challenging to put rechargeable batteries in such tiny devices. However, replacing disposable batteries in such small devices can be extremely difficult, even if you don’t have dexterity challenges, so finding a device that’s both tiny and rechargeable is unique.
Eargo features
Hearing aid style: Completely-in-canal or earbud
Bluetooth and mobile app capabilities: Yes
Standard warranty: One year (LINK by Eargo and Eargo SE) or two years (Eargo 7)
Our experience with Eargo
Eargo hearing aids are sold online directly from the manufacturer, allowing you to take a hearing screening, choose a hearing aid, and complete your purchase all on the Eargo website. You can also purchase Eargo hearing aids at most Victra Verizon stores.
Eargo SE and 7 features a virtually invisible design, while LINK by Eargo has an earbud-style design and Bluetooth streaming.
The Eargo 7 features the improved Sound Adjust+ with Clarity mode. This feature provides more sophisticated sound processing than the previous Eargo 6 and modifies your sound profile automatically so you can hear more clearly and naturally in noisy environments.
It’s important to note that although all of Eargo’s models connect to a smartphone app with Bluetooth, only one of Eargo’s devices, LINK by Eargo, has Bluetooth phone/music streaming. This is one drawback of completely-in-canal hearing aids; their small size means they aren’t always large enough to include all of the same features larger models have.
The battery life of Eargo hearing aids is shorter than that of some other brands. This is another potential downside of a smaller hearing aid; larger hearing aids can accommodate larger batteries with a longer charge. Though the Eargo 7 is the brand’s most expensive model at $2,699, it has only two recharges from a fully charged case. The SE is $1,699 and has five recharges, and the Link by Eargo is $799 and has four recharges.
Eargo provides a variety of unique domes and tips with every purchase. Taking fishing flies as their design inspiration, they look more like small flower petals than traditional hearing aid tips. Eargo builds its tips with comfort and airflow in mind to give users a better listening experience. We found the domes and tips easy to change on the models we tested, but the tips and domes could be difficult to use for older adults or people with dexterity issues.
We also liked the extra-long charging cord provided with Eargo hearing aids. At 4 feet, 8 inches, it’s one of the longest charging cords of any brand. This may seem minor, but we tested several hearing aids with charging cords shorter than 3 feet. Short charging cords could make it difficult to keep your hearing aids on your bedside table and plugged in at the same time.
If you’re interested in Eargo hearing aids but aren’t sure if you’ll like the fit of a completely-in-canal hearing aid, Eargo will send a non-working pair for you to try on.
Lower maintenance costs: No need to buy disposable batteries
Better for the environment: Fewer toxic batteries thrown into landfills
Safer for young children, grandchildren, and pets: No disposable batteries to be accidentally swallowed
Cons
Higher up-front cost
Inability to use hearing aids while charging
Not available in all styles
How do rechargeable hearing aids work?
Even the least expensive hearing aids are technologically advanced machines. “Hearing aids are computers in your ears,” said Sheri Mello, a doctor of audiology in Raleigh, North Carolina. These small, high-tech devices receive sounds from the environment, change them to digital signals, amplify them according to your hearing needs, and then send them to your inner ear.
This technology is the same whether you have hearing aids with disposable or rechargeable batteries.
No battery door
The biggest difference between the two types of hearing aids is convenience. Hearing aids with disposable batteries have a battery door in the back that you open to replace the battery every three to five days. Many older adults, especially those with vision impairment, arthritis in the hands, or hand tremors, may find it challenging to open the door and replace the batteries in the battery compartment.
Rechargeable hearing aids, on the other hand, do not contain a battery door. The battery stays in the hearing aid for the entire life of the device, which is typically around five years.
Two types of rechargeable hearing aid batteries
Batteries for rechargeable hearing aids come in two types: lithium-ion and silver-zinc.
Most rechargeable hearing aids contain lithium-ion batteries, which are the same type found in many other electronics such as cell phones. They generally offer a shorter charging time and longer battery life compared to silver-zinc batteries.
Do the batteries need to be replaced?
You never need to replace the batteries in a hearing aid with rechargeable batteries. In fact, in most models there is no way to replace the battery, as it is completely enclosed within the hearing aid. The battery should last the life of your hearing aid, which is about five years for most products.
How do you charge a rechargeable hearing aid?
To charge your hearing aids, simply place them in their charging case for the amount of time your manual specifies for a full charge. Most cases have a light that flashes during the charging process, changing to a steady light (or a different color) when your hearing aids are fully charged.
Note that several manufacturers direct you to remove your hearing aids from the charging case after they’re completely charged. Leaving them in the case too long can drain the battery over time.
How long do rechargeable hearing aid batteries last?
Most hearing aids reach a full charge in three to six hours of charging time. Jabra Enhance is one brand that offers a quick charge option of just one hour, but this doesn’t give you a full battery charge (15 hours after a one-hour charge vs. 30 hours after a three-hour charge).
Battery life and charging time of rechargeable hearing aids
Manufacturers of rechargeable hearing aids typically provide a range or maximum length of time for battery life. It’s impossible to give a concrete number because the following factors impact how long your hearing aid batteries will last on a full charge:
Bluetooth use: Hearing aid experts caution that streaming music, phone calls, and movies to your hearing aids can drain the battery up to three times as quickly.
Telecoil: Using the telecoil in your hearing aid to hear sounds in a public facility with assisted listening technology is a great feature for a better listening experience, but telecoil usage may also drain your batteries in half the time.
Tinnitus masking: Some hearing aids include technology to help manage symptoms of tinnitus. This condition causes a ringing or buzzing sound in the ears, and certain tones can be played through your hearing aids to help distract from it. Tinnitus masking technology can drain the battery more quickly than a device without this feature.
Temperature: If you spend much time outside, keep in mind that both low temperatures and those above 90 degrees Fahrenheit can cause the battery to drain more quickly. If you know you are going to be outside in a cold environment, protect your hearing aids from the elements with a scarf, headband, or earmuffs.
Altitude: The air at higher altitudes contains less oxygen, and lower oxygen levels can lead to shorter battery life.
Technical factors: Things such as signal strength affect the life of a fully charged hearing aid battery.
Degree of hearing loss: People with more severe hearing loss may find their hearing aid battery drains faster than someone with milder hearing loss using the same type of hearing aid. This is because more amplification requires more battery power, causing it to lose its charge more quickly.
Who should use rechargeable hearing aids?
Anyone with hearing loss who may have trouble changing disposable hearing aid batteries might prefer hearing aids with rechargeable batteries. This could include people with low vision, tremors, or dexterity issues in their hands due to arthritis. We found it difficult to open the battery door on certain hearing aids we tested, and handling the tiny disposable batteries was also a challenge.
One consideration with rechargeable hearing aids is that you will need to remember to put them in their charging case, usually every night, so they’re ready to go with a full charge the next day. It may be helpful to set a reminder on your phone or put a note in your bathroom or other place you’ll be sure to see it.
Also, hearing aids are even easier to lose than car keys or a cell phone (since they’re so small). Be sure to keep your charging case in the same location, and as soon as you take your hearing aids out of your ears, place them in or near their case. One great advantage of both Jabra Enhance and ReSound hearing aids is that both brands have a function on the mobile app that uses GPS to locate your hearing aids if you can’t find them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rechargeable hearing aids range in price from $99 for the most basic devices to more than $7,000 per pair for advanced models. Your specific hearing loss, lifestyle, and preferences all play a part in which hearing aid is best for you.
Generally, rechargeable hearing aid batteries last for the life of the hearing aid, which is about 3–5 years.
Rechargeable hearing aids are becoming so common that they are about the same price as devices with disposable batteries, but some rechargeable hearing aids are a few hundred dollars more up front. Keep in mind, though, that with rechargeable models you won’t have the ongoing cost of disposable batteries.
Not always. Eargo and Audien both carry small hearing aids that are rechargeable.
No, the batteries stay in the hearing aid for the entire life of the device.
Rechargeable hearing aids last about five years with regular cleaning and maintenance.