Bose’s FDA-cleared SoundControl Hearing Aids combines traditional hearing aids with their earbuds tech
Image Credit: Bose
The new Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids connect to the Bose Hear app for customisation over volume, treble, bass and more.
Announced last week, the SoundControl Hearing Aids from Bose are essentially smart hearing aids, sold direct-to-consumer that require no prescription, clinic visits or copay. Merging traditional hearing aids with Bose’s renowned high-quality audio and personalised sound via your phone, allows the SoundControl Hearing Aids to stand out from the crowd of traditional hearing aids and personal amplifiers (PSAP).
In the United States alone, approximately 48 million people suffer from some degree of hearing loss that interferes with their life. But the cost and complexity of treatment have become major barriers to getting help. The Bose Hear app lets owners set up and customize their SoundControl Hearing Aids from home — in less than an hour — to reconnect with the moments that matter. That’s an amazing advancement the industry has been missing and nothing short of a breakthrough.
Brian Maguire, category director of Bose Hear
The real advantage of Bose’s SoundControl Hearing Aids comes when paired with the Bose Hear app, “the first self-tuning mobile app that’s clinically proven to provide audiologist-quality customisation for individuals 18 or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.” The hearing aid pairs with your phone via Bluetooth Low Energy. The World Volume allows you to turn up the sounds around you, which will amplify quieter sounds more than louder sounds. The Treble/Bass setting adjusts the tone of voices and other sounds. Turn up the treble for brighter and crisper sounds, or turn up the bass for richer and deeper sounds. The Focus control lets you choose the direction of sounds you want to hear, using the microphones in each hearing aid. Tap Front for sounds in front of you such as conversations in noisy environments, or Everywhere for sounds all around you, such as walking outdoors. Create and save Modes to quickly switch different settings for different environments, such as restaurants, walking or watching TV.
The Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids are barely visible to other and more discreet than your average set of earbuds, with only a wire running between the tip and plastic enclosure behind your ear. With three sizes of eartips and two designs, the self-fit design of the hearing aids should provide all-day comfort. The open tips allow some external sounds to enter your ears, allowing for more natural voices, while the closed tips block most external sound, allowing for more control over the sound. Step-by-step instructions on setting up the hearing aids are available in the app.
The hearing aid uses size 312 replaceable zinc-air batteries that run for up to 56 hours, or around four days when used for 14 hours per day. Eight batteries are included in the box. SoundControl Hearing Aids are water resistant to light exposures of rain or water.
Bose have launched a hearing assessment page, to inform you about your own hearing in less than 5 minutes. Click to visit their Hear Screener. Bose are selling the SoundControl Hearing Aids for $849.95 from May 18th in MA, MT, NC, SC and TX, before rolling out nationally. The hearing aids are eligible for FSA/HSA reimbursement. Bose are positioning these between traditional prescribed audiologist-tuned hearing aids, for mild-to-profound hearing loss, that can cost thousands of dollars, and cheaper personal amplifiers (PSAP) that lack the customisation element and are not FDA-cleared.
