New arrivals in Ankara often ask the same two questions: which battery does my device take, and where do I buy it here. Both answers are below, along with the parts that people do not think about until something goes quiet.
Battery sizes and their colours
Hearing aid batteries are standardised worldwide by a colour on the tab, so you can buy the right one without speaking the language.
| Size | Tab colour | Usually found in |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Yellow | Small in-the-canal devices, CIC and IIC |
| 312 | Brown | The most common size — most RIC devices and many ITE shells |
| 13 | Orange | Behind-the-ear devices and larger custom shells |
| 675 | Blue | Super power devices and most cochlear implant processors |
They are zinc-air cells, which means they are activated by air. Peel the tab off, wait a minute or two before closing the battery door, and the cell reaches full voltage. Putting the tab back on afterwards does not switch it off again.
How long a battery lasts
Broadly, a size 10 gives the shortest life and a 675 the longest, with 312 and 13 in between. Three things shorten it noticeably: heavy Bluetooth streaming from a telephone or television, high amplification for a severe loss, and cold weather. If your batteries have suddenly started lasting half as long as they used to, that is worth a service visit rather than a bigger packet — it often points to a fault rather than to the cells.
Rechargeable models
Most current premium devices use a sealed lithium-ion cell charged overnight in a case, giving roughly a full day of use. There are no batteries to buy and no tiny doors to open, which for many people is the deciding argument. The trade-offs are equally real: you cannot swap in a fresh cell when the charge runs out mid-evening, the internal cell loses capacity over the years and is replaced in a workshop rather than by you, and travel means carrying the charger. If your rechargeable device no longer lasts the day after several years, that is normal ageing and the cell can be replaced here.
One point specific to Turkey: the state battery contribution that exists for SGK-covered patients applies to disposable batteries. Somebody using a rechargeable device does not draw on it at all.
Domes, tips and custom earmoulds
The soft part that sits in your canal is a dome or tip on most RIC and BTE fittings. Domes come in several diameters and in open, closed and double-vented forms, and the choice affects both how much low-frequency sound escapes and how likely the device is to whistle. They perish — they harden and shrink with body heat and cerumen — and are replaced every few months.
A custom earmould, taken from an impression of your ear, is used when the loss is severe enough that an open dome would cause feedback, when the canal shape will not hold a dome, and in children, whose ears grow and who therefore need moulds remade regularly. Remaking a mould is a routine job and does not mean anything is wrong with the device.
Wax filters — the most common single fault
A small white filter protects the loudspeaker from cerumen. When it blocks, the device goes quiet or sounds muffled, and the owner concludes it has broken. Changing it takes seconds with the tool supplied in the box, and how often it is needed varies enormously between people. If someone tells you a device has failed after a year, this is the first thing to check.
Damp, drying and cleaning
Perspiration is the quiet enemy of hearing aids, and Ankara summers are hot. A drying container or an electric drying unit used overnight extends the life of the electronics considerably. Wipe the shell with a dry cloth; never use alcohol, water or cleaning fluid, and never place a device on a radiator or in a microwave. Professional cleaning and vacuum treatment is available at the centre, and the repair and service page explains what the workshop does.
Where to buy them in Çankaya
We keep batteries, domes, tips, filters, tubing and drying capsules in stock for all brands, including devices bought abroad or from another centre. You do not need an appointment to collect consumables; the centre is on the second floor at Tunus Caddesi in Kavaklıdere and the building has a lift. If you are not sure which size or dome your device takes, bring the device rather than a photograph — a minute of looking at it settles what a description cannot.
Send your report, get the figure in writing
If you already hold an audiology report, send a photograph of it on WhatsApp and tell us whether it is for one ear or both. We reply with a written breakdown — what your cover pays, if anything, and what is left for you. No number-chasing on the phone.
The document you send is used only to prepare your calculation. Foreign-language appointments are arranged in advance; Spanish is provided with an interpreter and cannot be guaranteed for walk-in visits.