> My only dislike is the new fad, particularly of Oticon, of stopping disposable batteries and only going rechargeable.

My Phonaks are like that, and I will say, rechargeable-only has been a boon for reliability, at least. They're more water-resistant, and the battery well never gets dirty, which required some repairs on previous models.

Though now that it's been 5 years, they no longer hold a charge all day, which is annoying.