Poor manners to change hearing aid batteries in public?

Absolutely not! Their now part of your senses so if you didnt change them you could not hear anyone very well or at all. Look at what some of the baseball players habits are in front of tens of thousands? No problem...

I change mine when necessary. If with friends I change

Maybe viewing the removal and replacing of batteries might open up a discussion on what helps the hard of hearing such as speaking slower and looking directly at the person one is communicating with.

Changing batteries is no different from cleaning your glasses in public, only more critical. If you didn't need to hear, you wouldn't be there.

Best tatic is to make sure your batteries are up to date before getting into a social or business gathering. Otherwise change when necessary. Also impolite to not hear people's conversation or asking them to speak louder or clearer so changeaway

I have to wonder what motivates the question.

I'm wondering if @bobbiefriend received criticism from someone for changing hearing batteries in public. I wear hearing aids in both ears. By the time I get the signal that the battery in a hearing aid is going to quit I have about 30 minutes to change the battery. I need my hearing aids to hear effectively in public places where there is lots of background noise. The batteries are so tiny that I need a table or other safe surface. Like Julie said, how is this any different than cleaning your glasses?

Exactly, it's a no-brainer. That's why I wondered if the author of the post had an experience that prompted the query. None was mentioned. I'd be interested to know.

I hope he or she will share that. Sometimes the negative experiences generate good conversation.

Know what? It is an opportunity each time you pull an HA out and pop in a new battery. An opportunity for conversation about hearing loss, hearing aids (not like glasses!) and how to talk with folks like us.