OTC Hearing Aids - Apple EarPod Pro2 vs. Philips 9050

[TomH]

Lately, I’ve noticed that I was experiencing minor hearing challenges with some high frequency roll-off; sometimes it was hard to make out conversations in loud environments, listening to really thick accents on the radio or in day-to-day interactions, etc.

While having a hot dog at my local Costco a month ago, I thought I’d get my hearing tested. Sure enough, I’m experiencing mild hearing loss above 2k. Bummer. (I had a second test at my Sam's Club a couple of weeks later while having a slice of pizza, not that I was in denial or anything...)

With two bad hearing tests, I did some research (talking to a friend who is a Speech Pathologist (Phd), doing some reading (Consumer Reports, etc.), chatting with friends who wear hearing aids, etc. I decided to order a pair of the new, highly recommended, Philips HearLink 9050’s from Costco.

I understand the Philips are manufactured by Otocon and identical to their products but 1/2 to 1/3 of the Otocon price.

After a week or so of using the Philips hearing aids, I have been very disappointed with them: the sound is very tinny (think transistor radio with no low end); the ear domes weren’t comfortable and felt like they were cutting my ear canals; overall sound quality was meh (coming from an ASR background, perhaps I’m a bit picky).

This was not what I expected the hearing devices to do to, "improve" my hearing.

I stopped by the Costco to discuss/ adjust them last week and the guy says I have an appointment in three weeks to adjust them. Come back then. Wrong answer. (Jerk.)

Having read about all the OTC hearing aid developments, I left the Hearing Department and walked over to Electronics and bought a pair of Apple EarPod Pro 2s on the spot. (Costco has a no questions asked return policy of 180 days on the hearing aids and 90 on the Ear Pods.)

I got home and downloaded the Mimi Hearing Test app on my iPhone which resulted in test results which are virtually identical to the professional test. (The EarPods allow you to download the audiogram to automatically adjust the EQ for your loss.

Unlike the Philips, the EarPods sound absolutely fantastic - as good or better than most IEMs I've used. I realize that the Philips domes don't seal the ear canal which would really diminish the low frequency response but they still sound shrill and tinny.

The active noise canceling feature on the EarPods is simply unbelievable. Yesterday, I attended an air show and decided to take my new EarPods along with my standard, 3M WorkTune hearing protectors. I never put the 3M's on once: the EarPods happily silenced a bunch of F18s like they were miles away.

Though impressive, the EarPods aren't perfect:

- the large silicone tips are a little too small for me and I'm having a tough time finding an XL for complete ear seal/ isolation. (Has anyone found a source XL tips for EarPods?)

- the battery life is o.k. - perhaps four to six hours which is probably fine for most users but not ideal for someone who might want to use these as hearing aids. (The Philips batteries appear to last all day with ease.)

- Apple ecosystem integration is fantastic. I can switch from iPhone to iPad and the EarPods switch over seamlessly. This is the best BlueTooth integration I've ever seen;

- Ironically, the Apple software is far from perfect. Instead of having everything in one place, the EarPod software adjustments are all over - in the Control Panel, in Settings, in Accessibility. The Philips software is no where near as extensive or flexible as Apple's (perhaps to be expected) but it's dead simple to use.

Apple promises to deliver new software this Fall (but I'm wondering if they will simply buy out the Mimi software and that will be their big announcement.

- Appearance. I could care less about wearing hearing aids (I'm in my mid sixties and have officially reached, "old fart" status. Ironically, I'd rather be seen wearing hearing aids than EarPods since it's far more age appropriate! (I don't want to be one of those old guys walking around everywhere sporting a set of EarPods, particularly in a business meeting, dinner party or worse yet a cocktail party or a funeral.)

- Price - the EarPods were $200 vs $1500 for the Philips.

Am I the lone ASR member facing this challenge? I look forward to hearing your experiences!

I had the opposite experience. For Apple Music, the EarPods were OK while fairly uncomfortable to wear.

Speech generally sounded artificial and a bit tinny.

Costco spent a lot of time calibrating several hearing aids for me to try in the store. I settled on the Philips which had an array of listening settings and made speech easy to understand and fairly natural.

What surprised me was the music setting. My audio system includes Parasound Halo, McIntosh and Martin Logan speakers. With the Philips, the listening experience was surprisingly natural with very little “electronic” coloration and restored my ability to hear image depth and hall ambience on classical and jazz recordings.

In comparison, the Apple Earbuds sounded quite processed when listening to my system.

I guess it’s all in the “eye” of the beholder. The Apple Earbuds were returned and I very much appreciate the Philips 9050s. They were well worth the price difference to me.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I had the opposite experience. For Apple Music, the EarPods were OK while fairly uncomfortable to wear.

Speech generally sounded artificial and a bit tinny.

Costco spent a lot of time calibrating several hearing aids for me to try in the store. I settled on the Philips which had an array of listening settings and made speech easy to understand and fairly natural.

What surprised me was the music setting. My audio system includes Parasound Halo, McIntosh and Martin Logan speakers. With the Philips, the listening experience was surprisingly natural with very little “electronic” coloration and restored my ability to hear image depth and hall ambience on classical and jazz recordings.

In comparison, the Apple Earbuds sounded quite processed when listening to my system.

I guess it’s all in the “eye” of the beholder. The Apple Earbuds were returned and I very much appreciate the Philips 9050s. They were well worth the price difference to me.

How much cost?

 

[mglobe]

After using AirPod Pro's as a hearing aid for about a month, I decided to buy dedicated hearing aids. The AirPods worked ok, but I didn't like having to explain why I was wearing them, and I wasn't really convinced that they were as good as I wanted. I ended up buying a set of Sony CRE C20's, which came with a 30 day return policy. I got them with a $200 discount as a result of my Medicare Supplement plan. I'm quite happy with them. I figure that the OTC hearing aids will progress fairly rapidly, and at the $700 price I paid for them, I can afford to upgrade every few years. Definitely improved the sound of my stereo.

 

[rcstevensonaz]

How much cost?

At Costco, the hearing aids are $1,499 per pair with 180 day return policy.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

My 7 month experience with air pods as hearing aids. In cavernous courtrooms are a godsend for hearings and trials. Used mainly for work. iPhone has become my office. Use pods for calls and music. Music incorporates hearing test. A practical solution for mild hearing loss. Sometimes mild loss seems much worse than “mild”. Only use at home at night. Really don’t notice with Revel speakers turned up.