OTC Hearing Aids and Auditory Health Tech

UPDATED: Zepp Clarity One In-Canal OTC Hearing Aids Review: Beautifully Invisible, Frustratingly Limited

There is a quiet shift happening in personal audio, and it has nothing to do with louder speakers or punchier bass. It is about hearing help that does not announce itself the moment you walk into a room. The Zepp Clarity One In-Canal Over-the-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids sit squarely in that space, offering an over-the-counter hearing solution that looks more like discreet modern tech than something borrowed from a clinic waiting room. That alone will matter to many people.

Reviews, Health and Fitness

Elehear Alpha Pro OTC Hearing Aids Review: Elevating Everyday Sound Quality with Customizable, High-Tech Features

When Judie, my mother-in-law, asked me to check out the Elehear Alpha Pro Over the Counter (OTC) hearing aids she had received, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Thanks to the doctors who fixed my ears when I was younger, I have always had better-than-average hearing. After decades of shooting sports, hunting, working around heavy equipment, and a couple of years being deployed, I still have normal hearing, more or less. However, I tested them and came to a surprising conclusion: Even though I can hear relatively well, I had no clue I was missing out on so much!

Gear Bits, Events, Health and Fitness

Zepp Expands from Watches to the Amazfit Helio Ring and Zepp Pixie Clarity Hearing Aids

Zepp may not be top of mind for everyday smartwatch users. But anyone who has used their Amazfit devices knows they’re phenomenal devices that pack some serious fitness features in attractive packages. And now they’re branching out from just watches to smart rings and hearing aids! Look at the Amazefit Helio Ring and the Zepp Clarity Pixie hearing aids, and tell us what you think!

Reviews, Health and Fitness

Olive Pro Audio Enhancing Earbuds Review: These Help You Hear Clearly When You Need It Most

The Olive Pro Audio Enhancing Earbuds look similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro; they have the same white color and a similar design. At $299, they are pricier than Apple’s offering, but unlike the AirPods, the Olive Pro are not just true wireless earbuds. They are also a hearing aide that eliminates background noise and amplifies voices so you can better engage with others.

Health and Fitness

Jabra Enhance Plus Earbuds Are Engineered for Discreet Hearing Enhancement

Jabra offers some of the best true wireless earphones available. Now they are taking their technological wizardry in a new direction. The new Jabra Enhance Plus true wireless earbuds deliver hearing enhancement, music, and calls in a state-of-the-art miniaturized true wireless earbud. They were specifically engineered to help people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss with a new design and special functionality.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

NuHeara IQ2 Buds Open up Your World but with Some Tradeoffs

NuHeara IQ2 Buds aim to be more than just wireless earbuds; they also want to enhance your hearing, allowing you to hear what’s going on around you more clearly. They’ll provide you with a way to rock out to music, but also be able to hear more easily in a crowded restaurant. In theory, great. In practice…well, read on.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Signia Has Made Hearing Aids Sexy; No, Really!

If the old-fashioned “ear-trumpet” is what you think of when you think of a hearing aid, you’re only a couple of centuries behind on the tech. Today’s hearing aids are tiny, little things that help their wearers hear well without being obvious or conspicuous.

Reviews

The Etymotic Bean Quiet Sound Amplifier, Because You Shouldn’t Have to Keep Saying “What?”

Is the phrase “I’m sorry, what did you say?” a common part of your day? It is for me. My hearing is…questionable, or, as my wife put it, “It’s not normal to be 34 and need the closed captioning.” The good folks at Etymotic have clearly experienced this too, and that’s where the Bean Quiet Sound Amplifier can shine.

VitaSound Personal Audio Enhancer PAE 300-012

Reviews

VitaSound Personal Audio Enhancer PAE-300 Review – Hearing Help Where It Is Most Needed

There are several people in my family who have hearing troubles, some more severe than others. For instance, my mom started having degenerative hearing loss when she was in her early 20s, and for as long as I can remember she has worn hearing aids. My daughter, Sarah, has always had problems with certain tones; she has trouble discerning what people are saying if they don’t speak clearly or if they mumble, and she has used the closed caption setting on her TV to watch movies since she was 15 or so. I’ve had Sarah’s hearing tested, and although it’s…

Reviews

The Amplicom Induction Neckloop (NL100) Review

photos by Kevin My mother has sensorineural hearing loss, and she has worn hearing aids in each ear ever since she was 36. My husband has hearing loss from working with loud machinery, and although he doesn’t wear hearing aids, he misses some tones and quiet speech is sometimes garbled. My friend Angie’s daughter caught a virus several years ago that wasn’t treated quickly enough; the result was that she went profoundly deaf in both ears and has since been fitted with two Cochlear Implants. My point is that hearing loss and forms of deafness are much more common than…