Batteries for Medical Devices: FSA Eligibility

General use batteries are not eligible.

What are the common hearing aid battery types?

Hearing aid batteries along with batteries used to power medical devices, are covered by a consumer-directed healthcare accounts. There are a number of hearing aid battery styles on the market, but the most common variant is the zinc-air battery.

Zinc-air batteries are the most common power sources for handheld electronics, as they offer three times the energy of a common alkaline battery in an extremely compact package. Unlike standard batteries that create electrical power by chemical reactions within a self-contained unit, zinc-air batteries rely on oxygen as a main reactant which creates power by interacting with zinc gels. Using a reactant from the air allows the size and weight of the battery to be markedly reduced, making it an ideal design for hearing aid batteries. However, because constant air flow can dry out these power cells or flood them with moisture in more humid weather, they can have a shorter shelf life than traditional batteries (Hear.com).

What are the most common zinc-air battery types?

All zinc-air batteries come with a factory-sealed sticker that allows them to stay inactive until it they're removed. Once this sticker is removed, oxygen will be allowed to enter the inner cell of the battery, and within about a minute, this will "turn on" the battery. However, putting the sticker back on the battery will not deactivate the battery, so as soon as the sticker is removed, the battery will remain active until its power has been exhausted. These batteries can be stored for up to 3 years in a dry environment at room temperature. The most common zinc-air batteries include via Healthy Hearing: