I wonder if batteries have improved any, since I tried hearing aids a few years ago.
I have high-frequency hearing loss in the speech range, which affected my hearing in open-plan offices. FEHB covered all but $2500 of the cost of Phonak aids.
The aids were amazing. I could, again, hear and understand different people speaking over each other, including women's voices, which was where my difficulty had mainly been. Birdsong and music were clearer too.
But the aids ceased to be important when I moved to a private office; and the batteries drove me nuts. I don't see how an old person, with stiff fingers and poor eyesight, could even manage them. The batteries are teeny and barely last a week, the battery door is fragile, and heaven forbid I should take out the aids and not leave the battery door open enough - the batteries drained during the night and quit on me the next morning.
Not to mention, the batteries lasted differing amounts of time, so I ended up keeping a #$!@ little notebook to remind me which battery (L or R) had died and been changed most recently.
The upshot is that these expensive little gadgets are somewhere in my personal effects, probably corroded or something. I haven't worn them in years. And it's all because of those %$*& batteries. EDIT: Although I see from other posts that rechargeable batteries exist, that would not solve the above-mentioned issues.