Approximately 7.1% of adults ages 45 and older use a hearing aid, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you’re among this population and your hearing aid takes disposable button batteries, you may be wondering what to do with all your used ones. The answer is, you should recycle them. In this post, we review how to do so.
Why Recycle?
According to some sources, Americans throw away nearly 1.4 billion disposable hearing aid batteries each year. This creates literally tons of waste.
In addition, hearing aid batteries are pollutants. Most hearing aids take zinc-air button cell batteries, many of which contain heavy metals such as mercuric oxide and silver. Over time, the outer casings corrode, and the metals are released into the soil, which eventually seeps into the groundwater.
Furthermore, trash containing hearing aid batteries that is burned releases smoke into the air that is harmful to both humans and animals.
Although you alone throwing away your hearing aid batteries may not seem like a big deal, if everyone does it, the effects will be significant.
How Can I Recycle?
Recycling centers process the toxic metals and sell some of the components for reuse in various industries.
Talk to your local waste management officials to see if they accept hearing aid batteries and where they can be dropped off or picked up.
You can also talk to large retailers and jewelry stores like Goodin’s Jewelry Inc. in Olsen Village Shopping Center to see if they accept and recycle hearing aid batteries.
What About Rechargeable Hearing Aid Batteries?
If you find that recycling your used hearing aid batteries is too much of a hassle, consider making the investment in rechargeable hearing aids. These batteries are made of lithium-ion and last as long as your devices—about five to seven years. When the batteries stop holding a charge, you’ll probably be ready for new devices. At this point, you can turn the devices in to your audiologist, and they can deal with recycling the batteries.
To learn more about rechargeable hearing aids or to schedule an appointment with a hearing aid expert, call Amarillo Hearing Clinic today.
