Last summer, I gave up on hearing aids. I needed them, and tried those behind-the-ear ones, and didn’t like them, and then I got custom ear molds made so I could try completely-in-the-canal ones (CICs), but they too were a complete failure because my ear canals are so small.
I wrote about my coming to grips with needing hearing aids here:
And my experimentation with the behind-the-ear ones here:
Hearing Aids and My Favorite Martian.
And the sad ending of my journey when the CICs didn’t fit, here:
My Hearing Aid Journey Is Over
Since then, I have kept my ears open (sorry) for any new developments in the hearing aid world.
Then last fall, I got an oversized postcard in the mail from Verizon (my carrier) advertising that right there, in certain Verizon stores, I could try out Eargos— tiny, in-the-canal, practically invisible— hearing aids.
I had heard about Eargos before and had even done some research on them.
I was intrigued by their size. But I didn’t follow up because I didn’t want to order them only to find they didn’t fit.
But if I could just go to a Verizon store and try them? Yes. I wanted to do that.
So last month, a few weeks before Christmas, G and I went to the Verizon store in Rochester, NY, which is the closest Verizon store to me that had them.
We made a weekend out of it: put the dogs in the kennel, booked a hotel, and before hitting up the Verizon Store—which is housed in my favorite mall, the Eastview—I did some serious credit card damage at Athleta.
We had a great time, Eargos or no.
The Verizon store had a little Eargo kiosk, but the guy who asked me if I needed help confessed he didn’t know anything about them because they were so new.
Fortunately, I didn’t need his help; I just needed to put them in my ears and see if they fit.
Here’s what they looked like:
Here, for comparison, is what the Starkey CICs looked like:
Starkey CICs
I was so happy with how invisible they were. I ordered them when I got home.
Although they sell them in Verizon, you can’t put their cost on your Verizon bill or get a pair there. You have to go directly through Eargo.
I supposedly hit a Black Friday Sale, and they were $2450.00. The Starkey’s would have cost over $6000.00.
Eargos don’t have Bluetooth, though. Apparently, it’s Bluetooth that makes hearing aids swell in size and cost.
But for a mere $2450, I could have that hearing augmentation I was missing while I waited for the technology to catch up.
Now that I’ve been wearing them for over a month, here’s what I think:
The Pros:
- Cost. The cost is a third of regular hearing aids.
- Size. They are really small and discreet, though, for me, they still don’t fit the way they should. If you have normal to large ears, they’ll fit fine.
- Good customer service. When you buy them, you’re set up with a “Welcome Call” with an audiologist who will answer your questions. I had quite a few questions, and she was helpful and even adjusted mine over the phone. This improved my sound quality quite a bit.
The Cons:
- No Bluetooth. This might have been a deal breaker for me, but now I understand the Bluetooth jacks the price and the size.
- The fit. They are small but still not small enough for my ear canals. That pull string extends beyond my ear and catches on my hair, and I have had to rescue them before they fell out. When I told the audiologist, she said those strings shouldn’t extend out that far, and if they do, it means the Eargos don’t fit properly. They need to make a “child size” version, or ones for people with small ears.
- The sound quality, while good, is not as good as the Phonak behind-the-ear ones I road-tested for a month last summer.
- The App doesn’t allow for enough fine-tuning. The Phonak app was much more robust.
Overall, I think I would give them a B-minus.
I like them, but I don’t love them. I’m still waiting for technology to catch up.
What’s your experience with hearing aids? Do you like yours? Let me know if you do and why. I feel the hearing aid industry will explode in the next few years, and I am keeping my Eargo-enhanced ears open for any news and developments.
Inspiration Location 
Kath, Denny here. I tried to post a long reply to your hearing aid post. It wouldn’t let me and the post disappeared. So, I do have a story to tell you. I’d like to talk if possible. Please try me tomorrow (570-404-7153).
Sent from my iPad
<
div dir=”ltr”>
<
blockquote type=”cite”>
LikeLike
I just bought a pair of Eargo-7 and am in my first week of evaluation. Hearing is improved enough that I am no longer sentenced to responding “What?” to most things my passenger wife says to me while driving our noise-insulated Lexus with adult pop music softly playing. They fit well enough that I have them inserted far enough into my ear canals so that rescuing them isn’t necessary, even while riding bicycles on stone surfaces.
Bluetooth would be nice for iPhone connections but not necessary for me. We have Sonos throughout our home. Not perfect, but at $2500, an additional $2500 would be an unnecessary pinch for us.
LikeLike
Hi Denny, I am so happy you like your new Eargos! You must have nice large ears. Mine Eargos were always falling out, and the last straw came when I lost one in a Paris museum in February and wasn’t willing to track back through 11 galleries to try and find the little devil. I am now wearing BTEs from Jabra with Bluetooth. I really the Bluetooth, the BTEs not so much. Sadly, Eargos just didn’t fit me.
LikeLike
Hey.
I just received my Eargo 7 and am working through the 45-day trial. I too have very tiny ear canals and they are too big for my ears. It’s not just about the petals (as some suggested in other places), the device is simply too big to be inserted properly. That may be influencing the sound quality, but these are still better on my pocket and I like that you can’t really see them. That’s a huge bonus for me. Overall, I can now hear things that I hadn’t realized I was missing. I really just thought my hearing was impacted in busy/loud environments, but a recent hearing test showed that wasn’t the case. I’m giving these a few weeks to see if they become comfortable, I’m only on day 3.
I have been looking at the Phonak Lyric. They are inserted into the canal by an audiologist — they come in XXS-XXL, I believe. So, they will definitely fit. You keep them in your ears full time (24/7) for a length of time — definitely months, but not sure if it’s 3 months or 10. Then you go back to the audiologist and they swap out for new ones. I think this is a game changer. If they can get them inserted for a year — an annual swap would be worth it. Unfortunately, due to the regular swap, they have a subscription plan and it’s not cheap. It’ll add up quickly. If money weren’t an option, I’d certainly try Lyric. You should look into them — let us know what happens. 🙂 I’m hoping the price will come down in the next year or two and that they can extend the life of each set in that time too. I see myself definitely moving towards them.
LikeLike
I’m adding to my Eargo experience. I just got off the phone with a very helpful person at Eargo and we worked together to mostly address the fit problem. I’ve cut off the larger, bottom petals on the Mediums and I do find them getting into place a bit easier. I’ve also ordered Oto-Ease drops (they weren’t in my local pharmacy, so I ordered thru Amazon), which I will try once they arrive. This might help the device slip into place easier. If you choose to clip petals — make sure you are using sanitized nail clippers, remove the petals from the device, pull back the small petals so you don’t clip them by accident, and cut the number of bottom petals that you choose – as close to the base as possible. I ended up removing all but one on my left ear, but only needed to remove 3 on the right. If you haven’t tried that yet, you may want to give it a shot. Good luck.
LikeLike
Hi! Thanks for the info about the Phonak Lyric! I am going to check around and see if there is a Lyric audiologist in my neighborhood. I don’t like the idea that you have to be so tied to the audiologist every few weeks, months, though.. I haven’t checked the price yet, either. I have tried trimming my petals, the way you described. It helped a little, but I discovered that the “closed” petals stay put better than the “open” ones, so I jut use the closed ones. Another thing I don’t like about the Eargos is that they squeal when in close contact with a hat, or sadly, they squeal audibly when I hug people and that wouldn’t be so bad if only I could hear the squeal but they can hear it too and it makes me feel self-conscious.
Ugh.
C’mon hearing aid technology!! It needs to be so much better than this!
I appreciate your comment a lot! Keep me posted on your journey.
Love, Kath
LikeLike