The Beyond, Rechargeable, What's Not To Like?
So the Beyond Rechargeable hearing aids are finally arriving in the UK and Ireland. The Beyond has had its problems, just like many other of the Made For iPhone hearing aids, but since they pushed out the firmware upgrade they seem pretty solid. I believe there is another firmware upgrade in the works which will make them even more solid. Rechargeable has been around a while now, so I asked one of the Widex team what was the holdup? The answer came a little out of left field and opened up a lot of questions.
CE Mark
So, the Beyond hearing aids are CE compliant, and Z Power's rechargeable system is CE compliant, however, when you put the two together, they are no longer CE compliant. That surprised me, in fact, I was a bit flabbergasted. So, I decided to ask around a bit, I am sending out emails as we speak, but Oticon have already responded, their Opn rechargeable is CE marked and they went through the process. I hope to hear from other manufacturers over the next few days. Anyway, let's talk about the Beyond Z.
Widex Rechargeable Digital Hearing Aids
BEYOND Z™ is a rechargeable battery solution for the BEYOND range of hearing aids, created in collaboration with ZPower. The good news is that current BEYOND users will be able to get BEYOND Z™ by having a hearing care professional retrofit their current BEYOND hearing aids with the rechargeable system. BEYOND Z™ will cover all BEYOND models S, M, P and HP at all technology levels.
The Benefits For You
The BEYOND Z™ is charged and ready to go within 3-4 hours which will give you all day use. ZPower batteries last a whole year and only need replacement once a year. The ZPower batteries are interchangeable with disposable zinc-air batteries which means if you forget to charge or get caught out, you can simply use normal hearing aid batteries. Widex say that the Beyond Z offers the very best battery life in it's class. I would tend to believe them, Widex generally don't make claims that they can't back up.
- Rechargeable silver-zinc power cell
- 24 hours continuous use
- Available in all levels of tech
- Easy to replace battery pack
- User can use disposable batteries if needed
Like I said, I am glad they have finally arrived, but the arrival has actually raised some questions. Widex have the CE mark, Oticon also do, do all the others? I will let you know when I find out.
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Posted by Geoff
Geoffrey Cooling
Geoffrey (Geoff, anything else makes him nervous) Cooling is an Irish hearing aid blogger and has been involved with the hearing aid industry for over ten years. He has worked in private practice dispensing hearing aids and as a manufacturer's rep. He has written two books and they are both available on Amazon. He loves technology, passing on knowledge and is legendary for many other things, primarily the amount he curses, his dry and mischievous sense of humour and his complete intolerance of people who are full of themselves. Please feel free to connect with him
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