It's thought one child a month is seriously injured from swallowing or ingesting button batteries. Image: Raymond Orton/stock.adobe.com. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) has welcomed the commercial release of what is believed to be the first ‘button battery’ with protective features designed to reduce the risk of severe injury when ingested....
No actionable change to audiology clinical practice at this time, but clinicians who dispense hearing aids should be aware of emerging battery safety innovations and reinforce counselling about keeping button batteries away from children.
Button battery ingestion is a well-documented pediatric safety hazard closely linked to hearing aid batteries; a world-first safety-engineered product endorsed by the AAO-HNS could set a new industry standard and influence future dispensing and counselling practices.
- 01The AAO-HNS (American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery) has welcomed the new product.
