Once the dust settled and power was slowly restored to our surrounding communities after Hurricane Beryl, we quickly found ourselves getting asked, “What should I do with my hearing aids in the next hurricane?”
Living in Houston, we’re no strangers to extreme weather events. From almost annual winter weather storms to derechos to tropical storm systems, there’s no telling anymore when a weather event will knock out our power.
You may be wondering, “But how does this impact hearing aids?”
The Impact of Power Outages on Hearing Aids
With most of today’s hearing aids being rechargeable, patients typically get one to two days on a single charge. However, anything more than that, and hearing aids need to be recharged. During the most recent storm, many shared they put their aids in their chargers and were surprised to find the technology still did not turn on the following day.
As creatures of habit, it’s easy to put the aids in the charger, but without power, the charger is not charging the aids.
How to Prepare Your Hearing Aids for a Hurricane
Should we have another weather event that could leave us without power for several days, there are things we recommend:
1. Use a Charger With Built-In Battery:
Most brands offer a charger that has additional built-in charges. This means even without power, there is an internal battery in your charger that will continue to charge the aids, typically up to three more charging cycles.
This allows you to continue charging your hearing aids like normal for several more days if you find yourself without power.
2. Consider an External Power Source:
An alternative is using an external battery pack. These can easily be found online or in stores. You will still need to prepare for this scenario, meaning the external battery source will need to be charged before the storm. Once we no longer have power and the external battery source is depleted, it will need a power source to recharge.
Despite having to plan with this option, it can still be handy to have these available. In addition to hearing aids, you can continue charging your cell phone to maintain contact with loved ones and stay up to date on news in your area.
Handy Tip: Use Your Car as a Power Source
Should you deplete your external power source or need to charge an item such as your hearing aids or phone, one handy tip we were reminded of during Hurricane Beryl was that many cars have USB charging ports and even a traditional plug available.
As long as you can safely run your vehicle, you can charge your phone, your hearing aids, and even your external power source.
Stay Informed and Prepared
Hopefully, the weather will be kind to us in the coming months, but if you have any questions on hearing aids, chargers for your specific hearing aid technology, or anything in between, we’re here to help.
Contact Us
For any questions or further information on how to prepare your hearing aids for extreme weather, please contact us at Allison Audiology. Stay safe and prepared!
