Sound World Solutions Rechargeable Sound Amplifier (Right Ear)

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.

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 am older (refuse to admit being elderly) with almost total hearing loss in my left ear due to an injury, mild-moderate in my right ear. So keeping what I have is important to me. I had an expensive aid that crapped out after about 2 years and have looked for an alternative to $1600 every two years. Bought this as a second replacement after another brand began wearing out after 3-4 years. Honestly bought this aid because of the Bluetooth function and rechargeable batteries as well as because of the BAD reviews-figured I’d see for myself. Well I saw and have been blown away. I’ve used this aid everyday, morning to night for 2 weeks and found it easily programmable, comfortable, very well made and totally dependable. I paired it with my phone once and never had to do it again. When I connect the battery it tells me the mode that it is in and verbally confirms connection. I have intentionally gone to the limits of the BT range and gotten verbal notification when connection is lost and when it’s regained. The sound is a little tinny to my ear but very clear and acceptable. Final pro is that when battery level is low I am alerted well before power is lost and have not experienced any reduction of sound volume or quality before changing the battery. The only problem I have had is initial fit because of me, not the product. I have a bony ridge just at the entrance to my ear canal that has always been a problem. The shelf domes with this aid didn’t fit of course. But I found that I could trim the end of the done that connects to the aid and use the small dome, or do the same with a slight trim of the dome itself and also use the medium dome. I love this product and plan to buy it again if it lasts long term. $300 every two to three years is way better than $1600.