Good Idea, Bad Execution
I've had severe low-frequency hearing loss in one ear since early childhood, but the high-frequency hearing in that ear is sharp. I have very sharp, full-spectrum hearing in my other ear. Overall, the combination gives adequate hearing and I've never felt the need for a hearing aid. Still, I wondered what improvements might be possible if I boosted the low-frequency sound in my bad ear.<br /><br />This product looked like a great and relatively low-cost way to see what improvement might be had by boosting the low frequencies in my bad ear. It is claimed that this hearing aid has four spectral modes: mode 1 gives uniform amplification, mode 2 boosts high frequencies, mode 3 boosts medium frequencies, and mode 4 boosts low frequencies. Mode 4 was of interest to me. It is also claimed that this hearing aid has six different volume (amplification) levels.<br /><br />I was eager to see what this product could do for me. I inserted one of the pair of this hearing aid in my bad ear and wore it for a couple of evenings around the house, doing mundane house chores and chatting with my wife. I have these observations:<br /><br />1. There seems to be very little difference among the four spectral modes. They all sound essentially the same to me.<br /><br />2. In all spectral modes, including mode 4, high frequencies were WAY TOO LOUD! This was unpleasant and even painful at times. This was true even though I set the unit at the lowest of its six volume levels. (And there wasn't much difference I could hear between the six volume levels.)<br /><br />3. I heard a distinct and annoying artificial background hiss continuously. This hiss probably would have been substantially less if I could have turned down the volume further, to a level appropriate for my ear. Also, this hiss might have been less if mode 4 worked better to amplify just low-frequencies and not high-frequencies as well.<br /><br />4. I heard instances of fuzzy distortion on speech, and my own speech sounded very loud.<br /><br />5. Here are some of the sounds that were jarring, unpleasant, and even painful in my hearing-aid-boosted ear: the sound of my fork hitting my plate, the sound of the door latch as I closed the utility room door, the sound of the washing machine lid as I closed it, and the sound of my wife's normally pleasant laugh from a distance of three feet.<br /><br />After two evenings experimenting with this product, I don't ever want to put it in my ear again. Given that, I can't justify awarding it more than one star.
Rating: 1 stars