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.
1 Like
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.
2 Likes
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.
2 Likes
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.
1 Like
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
2 Likes
That’s correct Richard
I just signed up to say THANK YOU for the tip about inserting the Eargos with the string pointing to the back of the head - I’ve had my 6s for 2.5 months, and the slippage has been driving me crazy! Your tip is what I’ve been looking for to make these units work for me.
(I only wish I had known you could get brand new ones on ebay for a greatly reduced price…)
I have the Eargo 6s. I have mild hearing loss and these are my first hearing aids. They help with my hearing in difficult situations, but I still have to read the closed captioning on the TV.
The one annoying aspect is that the case does not close securely – it is held on magnetically. As a result, when they got pulled off of the nightstand while charging (dog might have pulled it off), the case fell on the carpeted floor and the hearing aids spilled out. I found one right away, but couldn’t find the other–looked for a month.
Eargo charged me over $300 for a new one. It’s not Eargo’s fault, but considering they are selling a small, easily lost product to a mostly older group of people, they should have opted for a more secure container instead of a cooler, magnetic one.
I tried them. I found them itchy. I have big canals. I found that I would panic that they were lost in my ears as I need my wife to locate the plastic string. Additionally, I found the feedback on high pitched noises such as the Car’s door ajar beep to be just awful. I returned them and got the more 1s. Muuuuch better.
Sounds like a plan, but how do you turn them? I can’t grab the aid itself and the string is pretty feeble, isn’t it?
@Warren_Johnson put them in with the string pointing toward the back of your head. The string is strong enough to pull them out but not turn them in the canal
Thanks for your reply. Wasn’t there some turning once in the canal? Perhaps a quarter turn? If so, how is that turn done? Please clarify. Thanks!