When shopping for hearing aids, you’ll find a wide range of options. Among other OTC brands, the less expensive options include Audien, Lexie, MDHearing, Go Hearing, and Lucid Hearing. These devices can all be purchased without a prescription — online or at stores that sell health technology — but the lower price tag includes fewer features in certain models.
Eargo is another OTC hearing aid in the same price range as Jabra Enhance. The selling point of this brand’s four models is that they are all rechargeable in-the-canal hearing aids, so they’re almost invisible when inserted. You’ll sacrifice directional microphones and Bluetooth streaming due to the small size, though, and the batteries last only half as long as Jabra Enhance, at 15 hours on a full charge.
If you’re looking for long rechargeable battery life, superior sound processing, and in-person support, consider prescription models such as the Signia Pure Charge & Go AX, Phonak Aduéo Lumity, or Widex Moment. All three of these hearing aids offer a 30-hour battery life like Jabra Enhance, and they are prescription devices that can be programmed for your audiogram results and adjusted in person by a hearing professional.
Keep in mind that if you have severe or profound hearing loss, you won’t find an OTC listening device that will address your needs, as OTC devices are only appropriate for perceived mild to moderately severe hearing loss. To treat your severe or profound hearing loss, you’ll need to see an audiologist for a full hearing test and ear exam so that you can get a prescription hearing aid that’s tailored to your specific needs.
It’s always a good idea to have an in-person hearing exam at a clinic before purchasing any type of hearing aid, even for mild hearing loss, so that an audiologist or hearing instrument specialist can examine your ears and make sure there are no underlying medical conditions causing your hearing loss. They can also get a more accurate picture of your hearing loss and obtain specific measurements of how well you hear at each sound frequency, with and without background noise.
One of the potential risks of self-diagnosing your hearing loss is that some cases don’t need to be treated with hearing aids but with surgical intervention or simple earwax removal instead.
