A hearing aid programming system includes a hearing aid housing; a faceplate attached to the hearing aid housing with an opening for receiving a battery door and also having an outside surface; programming terminals located in the opening immediately adjacent the outside surface of the faceplate; a battery door located within the opening. One edge of the battery door and the opening form a slot. The battery door is hinged to the faceplate and is movable between an open position and a closed position. A flexible programming strip having electrodes is dimensioned to fit within the slot. The electrodes mate with the programming terminals. The battery door hinge in the closed position presses the electrodes against the programming terminals to make electrical contact.