For reasons that, alas, have little to do with normal age-related hearing degeneration, I’ve been wearing Etymōtic (that should be a long o symbol) MP-915 High-definition Electronic Earplugs (aka, Martian Ear Beetles) when I need a 6 dB boost for normal conversations. The key advantage: a price 10 dB under full-throttle hearing aids.
Anyhow, each one runs for about two weeks on a 312 zinc-air primary cell, so I picked up a batch from the usual eBay vendor. These were short-dated, which let me figure out how long after the rated shelf life they’d be good for, so I know what’s the largest batch I should buy.
One cell arrived with its air vent seal dislodged:
The cell in the middle is used, with several scratches from the contact point inside the earplug. The cell on the right has a good seal.
Assuming a good seal, the cells seem to work about as well as the long-dated fresh cells included with the earplugs.
Although I found several datasheets (Duracell Energizer Rayovac), there seems to be no way to relate the actual cell you purchase to any particular datasheet; the part numbers do not correspond to anything on the package and the nomenclature varies wildly both between manufacturers and within product lines.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 