Zinc-air hearing aid batteries come with a sticky tab on them to prevent air contact; once this tab is removed, the battery starts draining. The instructions warn that "thou shalt not removeth this tab until a few minutes before thine need of battery".
Recently, my roommate's kids discovered that the tiny metal lumps with sticky things stuck to them were a much more enjoyable toy than the nice new expensive plastic monstrosity their father just gave them; long story short, about two months worth of hearing aid batteries are now unsealed (and hidden in crevices throughout the house, but I think I found them all).
Google searching has come up with mixed results regarding simply resealing them with Scotch tape, mostly suggesting that it won't work or that it will work but not enough to bother with. However, these seem to be in the context of re-sealing while they're in use (i.e. prolonging the life of an active battery by re-sealing it when the hearing aids are turned off, rather than for any form of long-term storage). I threw some tape on them anyway just on principle, but no clue how much if any effect it'll actually have.
How then could one reliably re-seal hearing aid batteries for long-term (well, one or two months) storage? Does a simple patch of Scotch tape (or re-applying the original tab) actually work, or is this a lost cause?
