Reese’s Law Takes Effect in the US

In 2025, a new law went into effect in the United States. Known as Reese’s Law, its intent is to protect individuals, particularly young children, from accidentally swallowing the small round batteries known as “button” or “coin” cell batteries. Since these batteries are normally used in hearing aids (including bone conduction hearing processors) this law affects many hearing device wearers, because it mandates that their packaging be tamper-resistant. Here is what you need to know about this new law and why you will now have to use different techniques to open your button cell battery packs.

Why this law was enacted

The story behind Reese’s Law is a tragedy. It was named for a toddler named Reese Hamsmith, who swallowed the button battery powering one of her toys in 2020. Sadly, she died after a month-long hospital stay. Her mother then founded Reese’s Purpose, which led to the passage of a bipartisan law to protect children from ingesting these tiny batteries. While the law passed in 2022, we are only now seeing widespread implementation, as it only applied to batteries imported after March 2024.

Thousands of cases involving children swallowing button batteries are reported annually in the United States. While some batteries are swallowed and passed without incident, far too many get stuck in children’s (or pets’) throats. In the case of lithium-ion batteries, saliva might cause an electrical current, resulting in a chemical reaction that severely burns the esophagus. Small children, who are at greatest risk, are often too young to express that they swallowed a battery. Because their symptoms typically present as coughing, drooling, or general discomfort, parents usually have no idea that a button battery is the source of their sudden illness.

Although Reese’s Law was based on a case of swallowing a lithium-ion battery, zinc-air batteries are also included. Although the risk to children and pets is somewhat different, zinc-air batteries still contain trace amounts of poisonous mercury that could potentially be lethal if swallowed. Also, the size of all button batteries poses a danger regardless, in that a child can stick one (or more) up their nose or swallow them easily, creating choking hazards. Therefore, all button batteries are included under the mandates, which includes a requirement to use tamper-resistant packaging.

Challenges presented by childproof battery packaging

The motives and logic behind stronger safeguards against children swallowing button batteries make sense. However, the new law presents undeniable challenges for many hearing device wearers, who depend on these small, round batteries to power their hearing aids or bone anchored hearing processors.

The biggest issue for adults is the change in packaging. All button-sized batteries are required to be contained in approved packaging according to the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA). This packaging is tested to ensure that 85 percent (or more) of children cannot reasonably open it unassisted within a five-minute span and that 80 percent (or more) cannot open it even after receiving instructions from an adult on how to open it.

This tamper-proof packaging is also tested to make sure an adult can open it with “relative ease”. However, this assumption is based on the average, able-bodied adult. It does not take into consideration dexterity, vision, or cognitive challenges that often affect older adults or individuals with conditions that impede coordination, strength, or sight.

Guidance for opening tamper-resistant battery packaging

Here are the steps for safely cutting the new tamper-resistant packaging to access your batteries:

• Get a pair of scissors
• Place the battery package on a flat, stable surface. This will help you avoid accidentally damaging the batteries, cutting yourself, or dropping and losing batteries, once freed of their packaging
• Be careful to only cut where indicated either on the package itself or in these instructions, and not directly over the battery(ies)
• For a single battery, cut the top off the package to just above the plastic blister containing the battery
• Peel cardboard backing away from the back
• Tap the battery out onto the flat surface
• For a multipack of batteries, cut between the individual compartments until the battery you want to access can be removed as described above

Our friends at HearingLife have put together a short video demonstrating how to cut into the new childproof packaging so as not to damage the batteries. You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si6aKj-1doQ.

Getting batteries for your Oticon Medical bone anchored hearing system

Oticon Medical stocks batteries suitable for all our available hearing processors. In the United States, you can contact our Customer Service team to order batteries at 888.277.8014 (M-F 8am-7pm ET) or you can place an order anytime via [email protected]. Here is a list of our current processors and the battery each requires (note: all batteries are zinc-air):

• Ponto 4: Size 312
• Ponto 5 Mini: Size 312
• Ponto 5 SuperPower: Size 675 P
• Sentio 1 Mini: Size 675