I don't believe the problem is high voltage or high frequency.
A resistor won't help.
Batteries work on chemical reaction. Heat increases the chemical reactions. If heat gets high enough, you can have thermal runaway where the battery self-destructs.
I still think the problem is heat. Try storing a new battery inside the meter. Don't connect it to anything, just leave it in the package. If heat is the problem, it will kill the battery in storage.
Send bad batteries out to a lab for failure analysis.