Nowadays manufacturers of high-quality true stereo earbuds have begun to offer a steady stream of hearing enhancements that offer performance very similar to hearing aids.
At the same time, hearing aid manufacturers have offered smaller form factors with a variety of new features at lower costs, and in some cases, they look more like traditional audio earbuds.
You may prefer a uni-ear or earbud-style device. Some hearing aid users prefer a larger uni-ear device that allows them to leave their hearing aids on.
Best Earbuds for Hearing Aids 2024
1. Sony CRE-E10 Self-Fit OTC Hearing Aid
Introducing the Sony CRE-E10 OTC hearing aid, an easy-to-use solution that delivers everyday comfort and prescription-grade sound quality in a familiar earbud design making the best choice for hearing aids users.
Featuring a rechargeable battery for all-day use and customizable features that adapt to your environment, the CRE-E10 delivers intuitive everyday hearing.
Developed in partnership with WS Audiology, this FDA-cleared medical device. FDA-cleared OTC self-fit hearing aid designed to amplify sound for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss, ages 18 and older.
The OTC hearing aid automatically analyzes, adjusts, and optimizes sound based on your surroundings, improving your listening experience in any environment,
whether you’re on a hiking trail or at a busy restaurant with a loved one.
Ear-to-Ear Wireless Link allows the OTC hearing aids to work together to create effective, high-quality noise reduction and directionality to block out noise, allowing you to hear clearly from all directions.
Designed with a familiar earbud style, these OTC hearing aids offer all-day comfort in four sleeve sizes, so you can find the perfect fit.
With up to 26 hours of continuous use, the rechargeable battery lets you listen confidently all day, every day.
The Qi-compatible wireless charging case charges quickly and easily, providing up to 2.5 hours of use with a 15-minute charge.
Stream your favorite music and audio with Bluetooth-compatible OTC hearing aids for iOS devices. Easily set up and customize your CREE10 OTC hearing aid with the Sony/Hearing Control app.
With bass/treble and volume controls right at your fingertips, you can adjust sound quality to your preference.
2. Jabra Enhance Plus
Jabra Enhance Plus is a new product from GN Hearing (parent company of ReSound).
The earbud-style product can be customized to your hearing loss and can be used to amplify ambient sound, play music and podcasts, or alternate between the two.
The Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds are about half the size of Jabra’s other true wireless earbuds. They include the calls and music streaming you expect from a true wireless earbud.
At the same time, they offer GN Hearing’s advanced hearing features, including digital noise reduction to keep voices clear, digital feedback suppression to keep feedback from interfering with sound quality, and directional beamforming microphones to focus on the person you’re talking to.
At $799 a pair, they compete with other OTC hearing aids that offer similar features.
Jabra says its goal is to make the Jabra Enhance Plus as easy to buy as a pair of headphones at Best Buy or online.
It will be available on the Jabra.com online store alongside two other premium earbuds that were unveiled at CES: the Jabra Elite 5 ($149) with six-microphone active noise cancellation, and the Jabra Evolve3 Buds ($269) that are optimized for video calls and office conversations with background noise reduction.
The advanced hearing enhancement technology in the Jabra Enhance Plus has been validated by hearing industry experts.
GN Hearing is a top-five hearing aid manufacturer and parent company of the respected ReSound and Beltone hearing aid brands. Hearing Tracker rated the Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds as the best OTC hearing aids of 2024.
3. Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus
Sonova Group has acquired Sennheiser Group, a well-known global consumer audio brand that has long provided assistive listening devices for the hearing impaired.
The two companies have wasted no time in joining forces to develop and deliver the new Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus Earbuds, priced at $849.99 per pair.
Sonova Group is a top 5 global hearing aid manufacturer, selling Phonak, Unitron, and other major brands, and is known for its advanced sound processing software in its hearing aids.
Among other features, automatic scene detection software analyzes the noise level in your environment and matches the level of speech enhancement to your surroundings.
Combined with the Conversation Clear Plus Earbuds’ active noise cancellation software, it dynamically works to block out distracting noise and improve the clarity of conversations at varying levels of background noise.
Sennheiser says the earbuds are best suited for “situational listening,” which is situations where you need to reduce noise in noisy environments.
They are said to last nine hours on a single charge, including streaming. Then there’s the portable charging case, which can be charged overnight, storing enough power to recharge the earbuds twice more.
The Conversation Clear Plus earbuds are TWS earbuds, not OTC hearing aids yet.
So far, neither Sonova nor Sennheiser have committed to entering the OTC market with FDA-approved direct-to-consumer hearing aids.
Like Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, which offers enough hearing enhancement to qualify as an OTC hearing aid but hasn’t yet entered the “medical” hearing aid market, Sonova has said it will wait to see how the OTC market develops before jumping in.
But when the time is right, Sonova is well-positioned to take a Sennheiser product that offers sophisticated hearing enhancements and a price point that’s comparable to many OTC hearing aids on the market today.
4. AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2
For those with mild to moderate hearing loss that’s mostly volume-related, the first- and second-generation AirPods Pro offer enough amplification and tone control to be a more feature-rich/feature-rich alternative to similarly priced PSADs.
And of course, the AirPods Pro also offers great-sounding iPhone music playback, controls, and audio iPhone app notifications.
The AirPods Pro 2 are also smaller than the Nuheara IQBuds2 Max and work much more seamlessly with your iPhone.
However, the second-generation AirPods Pro 2 ($249.00, on sale for $199.00) offers over an hour longer battery life than the first-generation model, offers slightly improved noise cancellation, includes the aforementioned Adaptive Transparency, and offers slightly cleaner and louder ambient sound thanks to improved external microphones and Apple’s more advanced headphone processor chip.
The Pros 2 are rated for six hours of music playback on a single charge, but I got almost seven hours in Transparency mode alone.
With just five minutes of charging in the case providing an hour of listening, I’d guess that 30 minutes would effectively be enough to fully charge the buds.
Based on these impressive results, I can only hope Apple develops its own FDA-approved custom AirPods OTC hearing aid.
You’d never know that the original AirPods Pro and Pro 2 could be used as a hearing amplifier.
The feature, called Adaptive Transparency, is hidden in your iPhone settings, so it’s only available to iPhone owners. Once you customize and enable the feature, it amplifies ambient sounds by up to 20%.
Check the Price for AirPods Pro 2
FAQs
Which earbuds are best as hearing aids?
Nevertheless, the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds are one of the better hearable/wearable solutions for people who “need a little help” but don’t want to invest in OTC or traditional prescription hearing aids.
Can I wear earbuds with my hearing aid?
On-ear or over-ear headphones are the most compatible styles with this type of hearing aid. Earbud-style headphones can be used with in-canal hearing aids because they sit deep in the ear canal.
Are AirPods good for hearing aids?
Current AirPod technology isn’t a replacement for hearing aids, but it can help in certain situations. AirPods offer an accessible and affordable way to improve hearing for people with normal hearing or mild hearing loss.
Conclusion
If you have hearing loss and are tired of muffled lyrics or annoying phone calls, one of the headphones on this list might be right for you.
Of course, there are other options. Just make sure the device you’re looking at has an adjustable EQ or built-in hearing test.