Charging Hearing Aids on Shabbat and Yom Tov

Rabbi, I am a 31 year old with moderate hearing loss in one ear and profound hearing loss in the other ear. It has been this way since birth. I recently finally got hearing aids, and they have been life changing. I havent run into charging issues with shabbes till now, but I just realized on the eve of a 3 day yuntiv they will have to be recharged somehow! The charger I have, the cradle itself has a battery, so it is portable. The LED lights go on when I put the devices in regardless of if it is plugged in or not. How would it be best for me to charge my hearing aids? Should I not use them for day 2 and 3 of the yuntiv? If I should use a shinuy, how best to go about it?

Thank you for your question.

 I would like to share with you the psak of Moreinu HaRav Fried shlit”a regarding hearing aids on Shabbos and Yom Tov: 

Using Hearing Aids on Shabbos

It is permitted for individuals who have difficulty hearing without a hearing aid to use one on Shabbos.

The reason is because the electrical current generated through speech is momentary and insignificant, and speech itself does not create a new electrical circuit. Rather, it only causes a change in volume, which is not considered a prohibited action.

Therefore, a person who cannot hear without a hearing aid is considered like a choleh she’ein bo sakana (a person with a non-life-threatening condition) regarding their hearing. Especially since there are opinions that even significant discomfort is treated with the same leniency, one may be lenient in this matter.

(This is different from speaking into a microphone on Shabbos, which is not permitted.)

However, adjusting the volume manually, even though the device is already operating, is not so simple to permit, since doing so may involve closing new electrical circuits.

On the other hand, if the device automatically adjusts the volume based on surrounding noise, this is permitted, since no noticeable action is being performed.

For this reason, there is no requirement for special kosher certification for hearing aids. Nevertheless, if it is easily possible to obtain a device that operates in a fixed mode, serving only as a simple amplifier without noise filtering, automatic adjustments, or synchronization between devices, that is preferable.

Hearing aids that have Bluetooth capability should have this feature disabled before Shabbos. Alternatively, one should ensure that no Bluetooth signals are present within the device’s range. The same applies to features that detect when the device is worn or removed.

It is permitted to put on and remove a hearing aid even while it is operating.

Some devices automatically turn off when removed from the ear. One should make sure before Shabbos that this feature is disabled.

Care must be taken, as sometimes separating the earpieces can cause a feedback noise (a whistling sound). This feature should be disabled, or one should be careful not to separate them.

Charging and Batteries

One should ideally use a hearing aid that can operate for the entire duration of Shabbos without needing to be charged. This includes situations where Yom Tov is adjacent to Shabbos, in which case the battery should last two or three days.

If such a device is not available, one may rely on a leniency whereby the charger is connected to a Shabbos timer. The batteries should be placed into the charger before it begins operating, and removed after it stops.

In your case, it seems that the option mentioned above will not help, since the LED will light up when you place the hearing aids inside. Therefore, you should place them beshinuy (not in the normal manner).

Wising you well.

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