Elehear Beyond vs. Sony CRE-C20

Offering good background noise handling, competitive wireless audio, and a solid app, Elehear Beyond is the best value hearing aid I've ever tested.

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Elehear Beyond achieved a SoundScore of 4.3/5 and a SoundGrade of A in HearAdvisor lab testing. It ranked #6 of 63 OTC Hearing Aid devices tested. The OTC Hearing Aid category average SoundScore was 3.49/5.

Sony CRE-C20 achieved a SoundScore of 3.7/5 and a SoundGrade of B in HearAdvisor lab testing. It ranked #21 of 63 OTC Hearing Aid devices tested. The OTC Hearing Aid category average SoundScore was 3.49/5.

Elehear Beyond hearing aids have an IPx5 rating, meaning you will need to protect them from moisture and dust. However, they appear to be build from quality materials and come with a robust portable charging case.

Sony CRE-C20 has an excellent IP rating of 68, which aligns with our hands-on experience as we observed an improved build quality compared to CRE-C10.

Beyond have a reported battery life of up to 18 hours per charge, which is enough to get most people through the day. The case also offers on-the-go power and can recharge Elehear in around 1.5 hours, longer if the portable-charger needs to be simultaneously recharged.

CRE-C20 offer an impressive battery life of up to 28 hours. I also liked the portable charging case which offers you Qi wireless charging.

Beyond are Bluetooth compatible with both iOS and Android devices, allowing for audio streaming and hands-free calling.

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The Elehear app has a user-friendly interface and modern, appealing design. It includes practical features like volume control and a tone balance from Brighter to Deeper. At this time, Beyond are "preset-based", though you can get a more customized fit using their ElePro feature.

Sony's Hearing Control app includes good features and allows your to further personalize CRE-C20 with their on-ear hearing assessment. One downside though is that the hearing aids and app communicate with sound cues from your phone. I find this method of wireless communication less reliable that Bluetooth, and it overall makes the pairing process more complicated.

I found Beyond fairly comfortable in spite of their larger body size. Be sure to test various ear tips to find optimal comfort and hearing benefit.

CRE-C20 are good comfortable once you find the best tip for your ears. They are not overly plugging though it can take some time to get used to having a hearing aid so deep in your ear canal.

Beyond have a more modern receiver-in-canal design, although the body size is larger than many other hearing aids. While this should not effect comfort much, it may make them more noticeable based on your ear size and hairstyle.

CRE-C20 are surprisingly small and sit mostly invisible in your ears. The style works well and was originally designed as an "instant-fit" prescription hearing aid from Signia.

Elehear Beyond has a value score of 4.9/5 based on lab performance and public display price.

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I did not run into any issues while using Beyond or the Elehear mobile app. First-time users may need some practice to get accustomed to inserting the receiver-in-ear style properly.

CRE-C20's smaller size and method of wireless communication make it more difficult to manage than many other hearing aids. However, Sony has improved upon the design as CRE-C20 now uses internal rechargeable batteries, as opposed to disposable ones. It is a unique offering with many pros but be sure to consider this against your needs and abilities.

Unlike many OTC devices, remote support from licensed audiologists is available through the ElePro app feature. This offers several benefits, but one we particularly liked was the ability for Elehear providers to recommend program settings based on their app or web based hearing assessment.

Sony does not offer great support with their hearing aids. You are limited to phone and email based technical assistance which is a downside to many OTC products.