Bose has created the first pair of FDA approved
over the counter, hearing aid, wearables. Welcome to my channel if you're new, my
name is Emily. I created Definite Hearing as a way to increase awareness for the deaf and
hard of hearing. I'm hard of hearing myself. I wear hearing aids, I've worn them since I was
four months old and I am so, so grateful for that. Alright so Bose has the first FDA cleared over the counter
hearing aid. I hope you stick around to the end of this video, because if you do, I'm going to
share my thoughts on these, what I wear them, what are the upsides? What are the downsides?
I'll let you know that the end of this video, if you haven't already please like this video and
subscribe to my channel. I look forward to making more great content for you. Alright, so let's talk
about these Bose over the counter hearing aids, they are called, the SoundControl wearables, these
are over the counter hearing aids which means that to get these people don't have to go to an
audiologist, they don't have to go to your doctor, you don't have to go to a hearing aid dispenser,
they can order them straight from Bose and they show up to their doorstep, this is pretty
impressive considering the fact that hearing aids, up to this point, have been widely gated it
has been required that in order to get a pair of hearing aids that you need to go to a dispenser
or an audiologist and through these are notorious for being very expensive. Not only that, they're
typically not covered by private insurance so it's just a punch to the wallet so what is different
about these Bose SoundControl hearing aids? Well, first off, you don't have someone else program
them, you order them they show up at your door and you use the Bose app to change various
settings, such as the volume level, the tone, the treble and the bass levels to magnify quiet sounds
to focus on what people are saying and things like that I was really confused though because in the
press release both said that it would take up to 30 minutes for these changes to happen, I have my
ReSound hearing aids and I can make changes on the app, instantly, so that was a little confusing,
hopefully we can get some clarification there, in addition to the app Bose is offering support,
you can sign up for free video appointments on their site, because there is no support or a point
of contact Bose has announced that they will be offering free video help for anyone who
may need it. They've also said that these wearables are water resistant, they're not
something that you can submerge in water but if you were to get hit by some mist or some rain,
they should be water resistant most hearing aids, all hearing aids that I've ever experienced have
really high IP or Ingress Protection rating, they are very water resistant but they are not
completely waterproof. Bose has also said that these wearables use the same batteries as hearing
aid batteries, zinc air batteries, I actually have those batteries in my hearing aid, these are zinc
air batteries, they are great. I have noticed that mine last about a week. According to Bose, they
say that their wearable should last 14 hours for four dates, so if you do the math, give or
take, it could be about the same as mine, but I would say that a wearable or a hearing
aid my hearing aids last about a week on these batteries and every hearing aid is different
you know you have the rechargeable ones that you charge every night and then you have the
battery powered ones where the batteries last several days depending on how big that battery
is and how much power the hearing aid needs. I've noticed that my right hearing aid that battery
dies faster than my left hearing aid batteries do just because my right hearing aid is having to
use more power because my right ear is my worst ear, so I definitely expect to see some
fluctuations in the Bose sound wearable, with regards to the battery power and the
battery life, one unfortunate aspect of the SoundControl wearables by Bose is that they
do not take calls, and you can't stream music. That's like so sad I thought like, it's both. If
it can connect to an app. I'm shocked. They didn't put the Bluetooth capabilities into it like they
do with their headphones or earbuds to take the calls into streaming music like, Why would you
not do that Bose? That's like one of the biggest selling points of my hearing aids, is if you
have Bluetooth capabilities on your hearing aids, you know, they're awesome. You know they are.
I love mine so so so much. Alright, and last but not least, let's talk about price Bose is
pricing these hearing wearables at about $850 each. They're releasing them in a limited
amount of states in the United States and they will branch out from there. I have no idea
how they chose these states because they all seem really random. So, Massachusetts, Montana, Texas,
and the Carolinas: North and South Carolina, I don't know how they chose those but like
super random. So if you happen to be one of those states, then you could possibly buy the
Bose SoundControl wearable as soon as May 18! Whoa, that's cool. Anyway, that's super exciting. This
is just one of I think so many over the counter hearing aids that I believe are going to become
available in the next five years. Now I'm not saying it's going to take five years or more over
the counter hearing aids to come out. That's not what I'm saying, I am saying that competitors are
going to rise and they're going to rise quickly, I expect Google and Apple and other tech like
giants to be coming out with their own version of the over the counter hearing aid, one thing
that could have slowed down this process is the FDA is failure to outline what the criteria for
an over the counter hearing aids are which kind of makes me wonder how to both get it approved but
we've got to figure that out. Anyway, there is the spotlight on the sound control Bose wearable,
that is the first FDA approved over the counter hearing aid, what are your thoughts on this, I
would love to hear in the comments below. Thanks for sticking around to the end of this video I
want to share my thoughts are on this hearing, wearable, so it is important to mention that this
is a wearable, this is not a hearing aid, I think the biggest fault for this is, it is good for mild
losses like if you just need a little pick me up great but the problem is, The person will be
tuning this to themselves. My biggest problem with my hearing loss is I don't know what I don't
hear, I can't imagine trying to like, just turn on the volume, and hoping that I'm hearing what I'm
hearing, because the problem is people just think that with deaf and hard of hearing people, you
just need to turn the volume up. That is not true every hearing loss is different every hearing
loss, like as unique as the person. There are certain tones pitches frequencies that you can and
can't hear. How do you know to tune your hearing aids to if you can't hear it. Well, I go to an
audiologist and the audiologist performs scientific tests that show where I'm deficient and they
program my hearing aids to match and complement that loss. So, these Bose sound wearables would
not have that you don't have any kind of like expert help or support you just would be
calling the Bose customer support team. I wouldn't want to trust my hearing loss with
that studies have shown that untreated hearing losses can lead to early onset dementia, I just
as far as my hearing and cognitive health, this is definitely not a product for me but I will say
I have moderate to severe hearing loss, so that is different than maybe a really mild loss and these
wearables, would be a good fit for it. Another thing I want to mention is the price point, this
is good, and and $850 For one, that's perfect if you're going to use it all day every day and
you're going to use it to hear, that is awesome, I love this price point, I just don't think it'll be
competitive with hearing aids because hearing aids are so different but I am hoping that it increases
the competition and the quality of the hearing, wearables. Another thing is, the domes. So it looks
like Bose does not have a plan to create a custom ear mold for these wearables. So, as you notice
I'm wearing hearing aids that have ear molds, these are silicone impressions of my ear and
they're fit to my ear domes are just little squishy silicone things that you push in your
ear, they do not fit as well and therefore they decrease the sound quality, entering your ear.
And so that is one potential downside of these wearables, and last but not least, no Bluetooth,
that was a big one for me, I was like, Bose, you totally could have added the Bluetooth but
they didn't. So I wonder if they have plans to do that. Let's see, there are my thoughts on the
Bose SoundControl hearing wearables, if you haven't already please leave a comment
down in the comments below, would you wear these are they a good fit for your hearing loss.
What are your thoughts, I'd love to hear, thanks so much for sticking around to the end of
this video, please like this video and subscribe to my channel. I hope you have a great day and
as always, stay strong and stay amazing. Bye.
