That’s fine. I have places I go where BT devices (wireless anything in general) aren’t allowed. I’ve asked a friend who works there all the time what HAs are allowed, since mine would not be. I never got an answer.
WH
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Yep. Actually anything electronic, whether wireless or not are a no-go. But outside those areas needing a HA would also impact clearances…
I took the plunge, bought a set of Eargo 5 (used) for a great price. A price I was willing to pay for a test.
Will update in a few weeks once I have them and see how they work for my situation/ears.
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Eargo 5 - first day of use. (I have been using my P90Rs, my first set of aids, so comparisons only valid vs P90s)
They are invisible. Unless someone put a flashlight to my ear and looked in you would never be able to see them. For my situation, this opens up a lot more use options for me around colleagues when outside of work. Situations where I can not use the P90s.
The Soundmatch test results look comparable to my in office audiogram/test. But the Eargo graph doesnt show any frequencies or db values, just a graph with a shaded graph indicating your results.
So far I am happy with them for what I paid but I dont think I would be happy at $3k. My ears dont seem to mind them being inserted, but it is a bit uncomfortable at first. The RIC style P90s are more comfortable, might be because I have been wearing them for a few months on/off. However the Eargos are awesome for wearing glasses or masks, because there is nothing outside the ear. The Eargos are so far in your ear, I was able to put on and off my fullface motorcycle helmet, a few times, without dislodging the eargos.
The charging system/crade is super easy to use. All wireless. The magnets hold the aids in securely. The charger also has a battery internal to it, so you can recharge the aids 4 or 5 times before needing to plug it in. Great for trips!
Cons- there is no volume min/max notification, so you can keep pressing the volume up/down and it doesnt tell you when you reach the end. Annoying.
Tap to change the program - I have not had any success. The phone program seems to work fine to change settings.
I think they are amplifying more of the overall sounds so they sound louder than the P90s generally. I think I have them on the lowest volume setting. There is a way to tune each program you are using them with, but I havent really tried that yet.
I can’t find a way to turn them off. As soon as you pull them from charger they turn on. But no way to turn them off without charging them. I see the charger’s power level in the app, but havent found how to see the charge level on the eargos yet.
Obviously they dont have the tunability that the P90s have. Nor the bluetooth or other features. But for plain aids, so far they are ok.
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3 days of use update-
Still using them. Still liking them.
Found out that you can fall asleep with them in and not worry about it - putting your ear against a pillow. I dont plan on doing it but I fell asleep laying on the couch.
The app is not nearly as customizable as the MyPhonak app, but the one advantage is there is no ‘waiting to connect’ delay. You open the app, open the menu and make a change (volume, program, treble, bass, etc) and it sends an ultrasonic sound to the aids and makes the change immediately.
Feedback- the only time I have the whistle feedback is when I stick a finger in an ear to push the aid further in or pull it out or itch. So in 99% of everyday life, never have a whistle.
Charger - the ability to charge the aids off the internal battery pack in the charger is great. The aids charge from dead to full in 2.5 hours. The charger takes 4 hours. It is smaller than the Phonak charger and why can’t the Phonak charger have a built in battery and not require you to pay $ and put something else on it that makes it even bigger? Phonak missed an opportunity here I think.
I’ve only used my P90s one time, this week so far. To watch tv through the tv connect, early in the morning so I didnt have to turn the speakers up.
The invisibility is the biggest “pro” in my book. No one can tell you are wearing aids…
Will update again in a few weeks unless something changes.
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Ty Rich
I couldn’t stand the itch and they were constantly working themselves out of my ears! Glad you’re liking them, though. They’re good.
I think like anything, it depends on the individual’s ear size, sensitivity, wax, hearing loss, etc to be a ‘good fit’ or not. I do notice how they tend to want to work their way out of your canal after eating or something (guessing the mouth movement lets them wiggle around?). That is when I will notice myself pushing them back in and hear the feedback whistle. Even when they are not fully in, they would be nearly impossible to see so I’m not worried too much about it.
Yesterday I swapped the petals from Medium to Large to see if it would help secure the aids better (after reading this in the manual!). So far the aids are staying in place much better. I’ve worn them for 2 days this way and they are rarely slipping out of the canal. After eating or talking a lot, still secure. yay.
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Yeah, that helps. I had the large petals in. They still wormed their way out! I guess I have big canals?
Probably my last update on this subject unless someone has questions…
I’ve been wearing the Eargo 5 for 2+ weeks straight, daily, from around 6am to 10pm.
Battery- no problems, no running out of juice. I dont know if they have a “low battery” warning or not, if they do I have not hit that level yet. But I am thinking they do not.
Comfort- I was putting them in with the retaining “string” oriented downwards to the floor. I switched and now put them in but rotate them 90 degrees so that retention string is pointing towards the back of my head. This seems to allow me to put the Eargos in a little deeper, hide the retention string inside the ear lobe and they do not dislodge/move around as much. I tried the Large petals but reverted back to the Medium and with this 90degree rotation they are much much snugger. Eating, talking, etc they dont seem to move. yay
Charger- the built in battery so you can charge with out having to plug in is a game changer. And the charger is much slimmer/slicker looking than my Phonak P90 charging case. Very happy with this setup. Winner hands down.
Programs - I spend 99.9% of my time in the “normal” program. They have a “mask” program and some others. I’ve tried them to see how they act but didnt like them. They appear to just increase the amplication. It was annoying.
Volume and the Noise Filter- these don’t do much. I found somewhere that someone claimed the volume adjustments only allow 2db change per click and only 2 clicks up or down. They stated the change range was too small and I agree. You can’t really tell a difference. So they are almost useless. The Programs you can edit (like MyPhonak editing, but not as complete) and it saves those changes permanently. So I’ve adjusted the tone/bass/volume to my liking and each time the aids start they have those settings. The Noise Filter has Off, Low/Med/High settings. I can’t tell much of a difference. The manual says it offers up to 20 or 25db filter, but I can’t tell. I leave it OFF.
Audio quality- compared to my P90s these seem to be more of a ‘blunt’ instrument vs. a scalpel. If that makes sense. These do work for me and I am happy. But it is a different environment to get used to compared to P90s. These seem to amplify the entire spectrum some, but where you have loss they ampllfy that the most. Maybe they amplify everything a bit to overcome the fact you have something plugging your ear canals? So when i put them in it feels like everything has been turned up a notch in volume. Not necessarily bad. With my P90s it doesn’t feel like that, it feels like it is more specific to my high frequency loss ranges. I’m not sure which is better/worse, just different. If I didnt have the P90s I would have no idea. Its possible also the P90s are not programmed the best.
Tap control - it works but it is way harder to do it compared to the P90s. I have given up and dont change programs anyway.
Cons- no low battery warning. Limited function of volume (would like more steps and greater changes). No option to turn aids OFF - so when cleaning or drying etc, they are always on. They are either in charger being charged and OFF or once removed they always go ON. Option to disable Tap control- to avoid me changing programs by mistake.
Overall - if you want invisible and your loss is high frequency, these are great. I only switch to my P90s when I know or want to bluetooth stream or give my ears a break. You can not see these, my wife can’t see them standing next to me, she asks whether I’m wearing them or not. I’m not sure they are worth the retail price, considering you can get much better units for same or less (KS10, etc). I bought mine had a huge discount and am very satisfied. If the P90s are a ferrari or lamborghini of aids, these are like a mustang. Not the same league, but still pretty sporty!
Hope this helps someone out.
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Actually need to update with a correction.
Noise Reduction - I just finished having lunch at a restaurant’s outdoor patio, with a power generator running next door. I tried the High, Medium, and Low noise reduction settings. It takes the units about 3 or 4 seconds to phase the reduction in, but it does reduce background noise A LOT. I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised.
Everything else is going well with them. I jogged with them in the other morning and they didnt move at all in my ears. So with my rotation of about 90 degrees (string pointed to back of head) they are snug and dont move or wiggle around. Very happy.
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I’m glad they are working out for you here. Perhaps I should’ve given the six a little more time.
They are good for me. My situation. I wouldn’t be happy though if I had paid the $3k for them. But on ebay there are new ones always available for $1200-1900 and for that price point yes, they are a good solution.
But like anything, no one size fits all. Everyone needs to try for themselves.
We have 2 expert reviews (one written and one video) and almost 50 consumer reviews for Eargo 6 on the main site. We are also planning to review Eargo in our new lab soon.
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Thanks, watched the video. Very interesting.
I’ve personally performed the Soundmatch setup (audio test) 4 times and each test has resulted to a similar ‘graph’ to my in office audiological test results.
i can’t understand how someone would perform the test and come up with results so far off. strange.
Rich
When I had my 6s I also did the test and got virtually identical results to my Audi’s test. As I recall, Dr. Cliff also got good results on his staffer’s test when she took it.
Does anyone know if there are any significant differences between the 5 & 6? I trialed the 5, but they didn’t provide me with enough amplification.
From my research, the main difference was -
Waterproofing of the 6
Automtically adjusting sound program on 6 (based on ambient noises)
Enhanced noise / speech filtering on the 6
Found no mention of anything else
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That’s correct Richard