No one's suggesting that people should be forced to go without. Rather, the problem is that people are currently going without because hearing aids can cost as

No one's suggesting that people should be forced to go without. Rather, the problem is that people are currently going without because hearing aids can cost as much as a used car. And the batteries - which do last longer, yes - are one-time-use instead of rechargeable. Given the choice between recharging something in the middle of the day that costs $20 to a few hundred dollars, or theoretically having multi-day battery life with hearing aids that you can't afford, the former is an easy sacrifice to make.