NEW! Sound World Solutions CS50 Wireless Bluetooth Sound Amplifier (Right Ear)

3.16.18a - OK... moving back to 5 stars. Got hold of someone in the real customer support and he said that I had defective batteries and they will replace. I don't mind buying one or two years but not every 5 months. Thank-you Sargon (855) 792-0177 3.16.18 - Nope not my charger. Check in the morning and both are 100% per my iPhones icon. Just got off the phone with customer service and they said that it is normal for your batteries to only last half as long after 5 months. He also said it was normal that the second battery would be fully charged in the morning and fall to half charged (while in the case) by the time the first battery ran out. Not as happy with it as I was so dropping my stars. Bought another battery but doesn't seem worth having to pay $25 every 5 months for a battery. . 3-2-18 Still love it but my batteries are not working right. I really think it’s my charger. Will be charging. Go to green then back to Red. The batteries aren’t lasting half as long as they were. Going to check my warranty because I’ve only had since October Waited awhile to write this to be sure I really really like it. My observations below: Pros: I can hear the small stuff (chip bag crinkle, TV at a volume that doesn’t disturb the neighbors and we don’t live in an apartment) Charger holds both batteries to be charged at the same time It’s small and looks (and works) like a Bluetooth without the flashing blue police light Cute little carrying case fits easily in a pocket in my purse to take with me every day There’s and app for that. I love that you have an app where it lets you set up to your own personal amount of hearing loss. It’s just like taking one of those hearing tests except I didn’t hold my breath to pass. And no having to pay the doctor to have this done every time you think you need an adjustment. NOTE: You really should see an ENT before you buy in case your hearing is a medical problem that can be corrected. The Doogie Howser I went to basically said “You’re old – you need a hearing aid” Way more affordable than a “real” hearing aid with a 30 day money back guarantee (hope I don’t have to use this as I am loving my hearing aid, I mean personal amplification device) Cons: I can hear the small stuff (fingernails clicking when typing, husband muttering under his breath, big dog breathing in her sleep, and the high pitched whine of our old chorkie when he wants his way) It hurts. I know this will go away but just to let you know, it will hurt. Nose and ears hurt when I started wearing glasses. Ears hurt when I starting using a regular bluetooth. So I’m a pain veteran and wasn’t surprised by this. It’s already feeling better and doesn’t hurt at all until about 12 hours in. Had an echo at first that went away when I personalized. People used to screaming at me, and still do, kind of hurt my ears. Loud clicking sound when you text. Can turn ringer off and it makes this go away (iPhone 7) Have to disconnect bluetooth on phone when playing a game because it transfers and I lose the super hearing even if I have the game on mute. I definitely would buy again. Matter of fact, trying to get my husband to want one. He’s just not ready to admit he needs one yet.

At the time of this review (and probably forever) it is not mentioned anywhere as for having ability to update the firmware. That should be fine as long as there are no bugs and the software has no room for improvement. I see it has ability to stream music with it's a2dp mode, (unlike it's predecessor) but it's not listed anywhere if using 2 of them will allow stereo streaming - in which it might be interesting for some to know if using 2 of them would be a true left/right sound separation that you would get with standard headphones. Doubtful. I'm thinking dual headset usage and stereo streaming is an insignificant factor for most, myself included, but wanted to add to this review. It's not advertised as being able to pair with a computer, but I tried it anyway. It was a little tricky to get them to pair, and once paired it still wouldn't communicate further other than simply acknowledging that they were paired. The laptops I tried it on were both requesting a software update which doesn't appear to be available anywhere. Perhaps even a firmware update might be needed. Definitely not a problem for me, just wanted to see what it's capable of doing beyond the description. It's written in the manual that it automatically opens BlueTooth pairing mode for 3 minutes immediately starting from connecting the battery. That may or may not be true, but what worked for me in getting the laptops to see them was essentially clapping the battery on and back off of the unit at 3 second intervals. After the 3rd attempt it picked it up. Pairing code is the standard "0000" It works as advertised and the sounds are indeed amplified. It truly takes some getting accustomed to wearing and if you haven't tried hearing devices before then you may or may not have your expectations set right. I haven't tried other units of any kind but figured I'd start with this one as it's predecessor "CS10" had good reviews and this one is likely the same thing but with an updated BlueTooth chip which allows for the better power consumption and a2dp audio streaming. It amplifies all things - from clicks to clanks to water running to coughing, scratching, rustling...you'll see!or eh hear! Voice does come in amplified as well, but it's not much more amplified than all the other noises. Wouldn't expect a miracle, but it seems some are claiming it's better than their multi-thousand dollar prescription units. I snipped this from an article: "Directionality is the only way to improve intelligibility in noisy environments," said Dr. Stavros Basseas, co-founder and president of Sound World Solutions. "We are very pleased with how much background noise the algorithms of the CS50 can attenuate. It is dramatically better than even our previous product." It comes in a small box, easy to return if you don't like it. I'd say go ahead and get it, but don't be afraid to wear it. People will be glad if you are no longer making up things when you mishear them. :)

I've had one of these less than a week and I'm ready to write my review. I have no hearing at all in one ear, and have worn very expensive hearing aids on the other for more than 20 years. I am aware that this is a personal amplifying device, and not technically a hearing aid. And it is VERY IMPORTANT to see a doctor before you get any kind of hearing device to see if there is a medical (and treatable) cause for your hearing loss. Pro: 1. The sound is better and clearer and louder than any hearing aid I have ever worn. As if that isn't enough 2. The cost, of course, is nothing compared to what I have spent in the past. 3. The bluetooth was easy to set up and works very nicely with my iphone. (My last hearing aid was bluetooth-capable via a separate device but the whole thing never worked properly; if it did connect, the sound was too poor to actually use it for a conversation.) 4. Rechargeable batteries! Two of them! I've wanted rechargeable batteries forever. And so far, they charge easily and quickly. 5. The feedback I was getting the first few days was easily gotten rid of by adjusting the earpiece tip. (See below.) 6. When I'm driving, I can now actually hear conversation of the other people in the car. 7. The companion iphone app is pretty simple to use, and very nice to have, instead of having to go see an audiologist to make every adjustment. Con: 1. Yes, it is big and it is black, which happens not to blend with my hair coloring at all. When people see you wearing a hearing aid, they will often speak more clearly, face you, etc. When they see you wearing a bluetooth earpiece, they just think you're listening to your phone. I'm guessing I'll have to take it off at airport security. 2. The road noise when I'm in the car is pretty loud. But the Restaurant setting helps it a bit. 3. I need to take it off to talk on a landline phone, for now. Working on that. 4. I wasn't able to reach the company by phone (to ask for the bigger ear-tip, no longer a problem) because I didn't want to leave a message and be called back, which I guess I could have done, but I don't like doing that. How I fixed the ear-tip: The biggest one was uncomfortable, the medium was too loose, and it stuck out of my ear too far, which created more feedback. I cut the bell end (the big part) off the smallest one, and also cut off a bit of the length, and put it on the device. I took a softer ear-tip from an old noise-reduction earbud that I don't need to use anymore and pushed it down over what was left of the small tip. This makes the new ear-tip fit snugly on the device, and parallel to my head. I have NO FEEDBACK AT ALL, even when I cup my hand over it. BTW: If you're new to hearing devices, the sad truth is that nothing will block out the background noise in a crowd. Even a $4000 digital customized hearing aid won't really do that. At least mine never did.

My wife has been nagging me to get a hearing aid for years - but as an engineer, I am pretty tough to convince without proof it will work. The cost of "real" hearing aids seems outrageous given the lack of proven results; but I had to admit that I increasingly was having trouble hearing sound from TV shows and at gatherings (and of course pretty much anything from my wife). So with a little research I determined that maybe the hearing amplifier would do what I needed at an almost reasonable price. The unit, as you can see from the pictures, is by no means invisible - it basically looks like you are always connected to your iPhone - but that is becoming the new normal. With the iPhone app available on their web site I was able to adjust it to match my specific hearing loss (like every other 74 year old - mostly high frequencies). And I wore it almost full time for two weeks with pretty good results. I found it somewhat uncomfortable - but tolerable; and each battery (they give you two) lasted about 10 hours, so I didn't have to worry about running out of power all the time. But here is the crucial defect: last night when I removed the amplifier from my ear the plastic tip stayed behind - just far enough behind that I could not get it out. Nor could my wife when I asked her help when she woke up this morning. It wasn't hard for the ER doc to get it - but this is definitely not something I would like to repeat every two weeks. So were it not for this incident I would have continued trying it a little longer, and then maybe opted for a unit with the same capabilities but a little less obvious and with a little better fit for the ear. But with the incident, I have made a safe and good-fitting ear piece a very high priority. If and when I find one that works as well as the CS50 I will let you know.

Purchased for my 90 year-old mother who denies needing hearing assistance despite not hearing anything said at church or family gatherings for at least the last five years. She could not afford the outrageous prices for hearing aids so I knew if I spent $350-400 on something she would use it out of guilt if for no other reason. The device she received had a defective charger and had to be returned after a lengthy phone call to the seller. Took about 10 days to get a replacement because they won't send a new one until they receive the old one back. The good news is that she really likes this little earphone and is able to hear much better when wearing it. She can hear in church now and also in our weekly family gatherings. The battery lasts a good 10-12 hours and she says she gets a clear signal. She likes that it sits outside her ear canal as she is bothered by having something "stuck in her ear". The bad news is that this device is quite delicate and a little hard for her to attach to her ear by herself. Also, the batteries are small and hard for her to handle. She dropped one battery on a stone floor the second day she wore it and it broke completely apart. I put it back together as best I could and I think she may have put some tape around it when she got home; it still works. So overall I think it is definitely worth the cost and she is able to participate in conversations again.

I’ll be back to update this in a few weeks, but here’s the first impression: My hearing aids died and I didn’t want to replace them just yet for reasons I won’t go into, but I had to do something. My hearing loss is minimal in my left hear, but kind of poor on the right. With the hearing aids, I still had problems hearing TV dialog and restaurant conversation, though it was better than with nothing. I decided I had little to lose by trying out the Sound World Solutions thingy. If I’d had this in the first place, I doubt I’d have gotten hearing aids. It’s such an improvement over nothing. I put it on out of the box, and it was so sensitive, I could hear the pages turning in the owner’s manual. That was really something. I still can’t get TV dialog as well as I‘d hoped, but it’s better than the hearing aids were for that. That said, it’s still not a hearing aid, and it’s not as good for general hearing (though almost). If I talk with it on, it sounds as though I’m talking to myself from about an inch away. It also has an echo chamber effect, where you feel as though you’re in a cave. And it’s been staticky a couple of times. You have the option of using presets or customizing reception, and as the manual suggested, I tried re-doing the custom settings a few times. That worked pretty well, and all of the little things I complained about above improved. Because of that, I’m sticking with it for a few weeks and will probably use it even if I replace the hearing aids. My own view is that the hearing aid industry is kind of a racket. When you think of the technology in a $500 smart phone, you wonder why hearing aids are three to six times that much. Hearing aid companies advertise heavily , offer *free* hearing tests, and multi-year warranty work. That has to be paid for somehow. On top of that, “You don’t need hearing aids, you just need an a hearing amplifier,” said no hearing aid store, ever. This product will be as good as a hearing aid for a lot of people. So far, it’s good for me, though they could change up or down in a few weeks. I should say I haven’t used the Bluetooth feature or phone answering part yet, but still. UPDATE 6/7/2021: Increasing to five stars. After setting and resetting the customization features, the sound quality is really good, not just for everyday, but for listening to television dialogue. The Bluetooth and phone-answering is good, and so far, the battery life is just fine.

I knew I was saying, "what" too often and pondered the need for a "real" hearing aid. I began my research and discovered that hearing aid place want to you make an appointment, show up with your spouse, and participate in a long testing process - covertly designed to convince you that there's hearing loss and that a professional hearing aid will solve your problems.I also discovered that hearing aid prices can range from a thousand dollars to well over $10,000 and that the differences are, for the most part, based in the perception that higher cost means higher quality. This is not the case for these products. I'm of an age where many friends and acquaintances have hearing aids. I polled many and didn't find one who is happy with the purchase. Most tell stories of repeat visits for fitting and tuning - which they pay for after the first few that had been included in the original purchase. I did not want to devote the time to the process - and the sellers (some call themselves DOCTOR) were only interested in the way they do things. I was also peeved by the insistence that my wife attend. I often see this tactic used when a sales person is working to make a sale and fears being put off when the buyer says he/she needs to go home and check with the spouse. They know that once the person leaves the scene the chance for a sale drops a lot. I just could not see myself dropping thousands of dollars for something that would take time to fit and tune and which probably wouldn't meet my needs in the end. I remain put off by the fact that prices vary so much for no recognizable differences. The CS50 is NOT a hearing aid. The FDA won't let it be referred to as such. It is, officially, a Personal Sound Amplification Device (PSAD) - and a very good one at that. In addition to assisting my hearing (very well) it is also a Bluetooth headset for my iPhone and I can listen to music - wirelessly. To make it all come together, the CS50 also has an app that allows me to customize and fine tune the device - without the need to visit anyone or spend any money. I bought my CS50 from Amazon in spite of the fact that it is sold from a company right here in Illinois. My Amazon Prime afforded my the chance to get it shipped free - and next day for only $7 more. It arrived as promised, well packed, and not even a hint of package damage. It worked right out of the box. After about a week of wear I hardly notice it. However, I do notice it when I'm not wearing it. The battery is rechargeable and lasts for a full day for me - well over 12 hours. It came with 2 batteries and everything I need to wear it comfortably all day. It looks like a standard Bluetooth device. I would certainly recommend anyone worried about hearing to try this amplifier. It has a 30-day no question warranty, which helped close the sale for me - and which I don't think I'll use. I have it in one ear only. Two may be next.

The quality of the sound surpassed my expectations. The app makes it very easy to create a personal hearing profile that for me was superior to the preprogrammed profiles. However, I did find the built-in Restaurant profile to be superior at helping to block out background noises. I had to do a second personal profile, as I rushed through the first. You must listen very carefully, in a space with little or no noise, to hear all the signals that are necessary to create an accurate profile. The instructions are very clear, but you need to get the app to really get the most out this device. This seems to be an excellent choice for those of us with mild to moderate hearing loss. It's not promoted as a hearing aid, but is a very sophisticated sound amplifier. One caution, turn the volume down before placing it in your ear to avoid feedback noise, as the transition from open space to your ear can create a sharp whistling noise. I would definitely recommend this to a friend with moderate hearing loss. I primarily use it for TV. This model does have Blue Tooth. I have only used it with the Windows App to configure my personal profile. I assume the Blue Tooth will work with other sound sources, but haven't used it in that fashion.