JLab Hear OTC vs. Sony CRE-C20

The JLab HEAR OTC Hearing Aid offers an affordable and user-friendly solution for those with mild to moderate hearing loss, featuring customizable sound settings and a sleek design. Extensive testing reveals its effective performance in various environments, making it a reliable choice for everyday use.

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JLab Hear OTC achieved a SoundScore of 3.7/5 and a SoundGrade of B in HearAdvisor lab testing. It ranked #26 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.

The portable charger is flimsy and HEAR have a lower egress rating of IPX4. However, with some extra care and cleaning they should hold up to regular daily use.

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.

HEAR do not offer enough power for all-day use with a battery life of 10 hours (less with streaming). The battery life is however respectable for a wireless earbud.

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.

HEAR offer wireless connectivity for both iOS and Android users. I personally experienced stable streaming and phone calls with my iPhone 12.

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The JLab Hearing Health app offers a nice feature set for personalization. Some elements could be more user friendly, but it makes sense after a little troubleshooting.

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.

HEAR are comfortable and had good retention in my ears. They completely seal your ear when worn properly but feel less “plugging” as they are lightweight.

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.

This is highly personalized, but HEAR look like modern earbuds and distance themselves from the negative stigma some attribute to hearing aids.

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.

JLab Hear OTC has a value score of 5.0/5 based on lab performance and public display price.

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I ran into a few issues with my initial Bluetooth pairing but HEAR and the touch controls work well otherwise.

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.

JLab falls short on actual hearing care as help is limited to their online Help Center and or standard Customer Support.

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.