Eargo 7

Eargo 7 is a respectable over-the-counter hearing aid—and hard to beat if you're looking for a hearing aid that is both invisible and rechargeable. Eargo 7 provides clear speech for those with mild hearing loss, especially in quieter settings, but lacks wireless streaming.

Who is Eargo 7 for?

You want invisible - Eargo hearing aids are arguably the smallest hearing solution currently available. They sit undetectable within your ear canal and are only visible by a tiny transparent removal thread. This is quite impressive as these devices both have wireless control and roughly 16 hours of battery life.

You want to DIY - Eargo 7 can be purchased online at Eargo or through other retailers. They do not require a prescription making them a viable option for those looking to dodge the traditional in-office visits.

You're tech saavy - Eargo 7 hearing aids offer many advanced features that can only be accessed through the associated app. Those looking to get the most out of their devices will need to be comfortable navigating a phone and various tabs for customization.

What is Eargo 7?

Eargo 7 was announced January 4th at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada and is Eargo’s latest flagship model. They are available online and in-store today without a prescription for $2950 per pair. However, various limited-time discounts are currently being offered to promote the device's recent release.

Eargo 7 are an FDA-Cleared rechargeable hearing aid designed for those with mild-to-moderate perceived hearing loss. They build off a long lineage of small, nearly invisible, devices for those who wish to avoid the doctor's office—and have their hearing aids shipped directly to their doorstep. Though Eargo 7 hearing aids are a direct-to-consumer (DTC) option, that does not mean they compromise on offering. You can expect to find features consistent with traditional prescription devices such as speech amplification, noise reduction, wireless app control, rechargeability and more. The Eargo package also includes remote calls and in-app video support from hearing professionals.

For those dubious about purchasing a nearly $3000 DTC hearing aid, continue reading to see how they worked for me and hear how they performed in the HearAdvisor™ lab. You can also hear what HearingTracker audiologist Matthew Allsop has to say about Eargo 7 in this video.

Using Eargo 7

Eargo 7 hearing aids come with various domes (or pedals as Eargo refers to them), replacement microphone covers, a charger that doubles as a carrying case, a USB-C power cord, cleaning supplies, and user guides. My Eargo devices arrived with a partial charge though the Use and Care manual recommends charging both the hearing aids and Charger for 4 hours before use.

Once they were ready, I connected them to my iPhone (more on that later) and inserted them in my ears.  This was straightforward and more organic than other behind the ear style devices, you simply pinch the hearing aid with your fingers and gently insert it down your ear canals. Unless you have dexterity issues, and or low vision, their smaller size is easy to handle especially after a little practice. The user manual recommends positioning each device so that the rear microphone cap sits flush with the opening of your ear canal. This leaves only the transparent removal thread exposed.

Eargo 7 are very comfortable due to their light weight and small size. I did not experience any pressure or tickling in the ear which is something that happens when I wear receiver in the canal style hearing aids. I ultimately liked the medium closed petals which is what Eargo 7 ships with. The flanges of their “pedal” design conformed to my ear providing both a comfortable and secure feel. You will need to try the various sizes and styles to find what fits best and is most appropriate based on your hearing. If you experience any pain or pressure while doing this you may need a smaller size, shallower insertion down your ear canal, and or to visit a professional to rule-out other issues such as ear wax build-up.

Removing Eargo 7 from my ears was roughly as easy as getting them in. The removal thread is stiff and easily located with your index finger. Again, those with dexterity issues or finger numbness may find this challenging. Another concern that came to mind was the overall durability of the removal thread. Thin filaments such as these are not uncommon with certain hearing aids or custom molds—they can break with daily use and therefore may need occasional replacement.  

Battery Life & Rechargeability

Eargo 7 are rechargeable hearing aids that can last up to 16 hours per charge—a surprising feat given their miniscule size. The carrying case Charger also offers up to an additional two days worth of power. Neither the website nor user manual specified whether this meant an additional 48 hours worth of use or rather two more full charges at 16 hours each. Regardless, you should have enough juice to make it through an entire weekend of festivities without needing to plug-in.

It will take roughly 4 hours to charge either your Eargo 7 hearing aids or the Charger carrying case. Expect to wait around 6 hours if both are depleted. The Charger, and internal cradle, provide several LED indicators for the power status of your devices. Four LEDs towards the middle of the case correspond to each hearing aid while a larger LED around the bottom USB-C port is for the internal power bank. I found all of these light indicators very helpful as they quickly signal the status anytime the devices are inserted or the Charger lid is removed. Furthermore, this provided good visual confirmation that each device is seated properly within the cradle and charging.

Overall, my experience with the rechargeability of Eargo 7 was reliable and consistent. The Charger has a magnetized cradle so placing Eargo within it was not difficult. They also use inductance so I had no concerns about inverting the left and right devices within the case. The overall battery life seems consistent with the manufacturer claim though I did not objectively test it.

Wireless Connectivity and the Eargo App 

The Eargo app allows you to wireless control your hearing aids and further personalize them to your hearing needs. It is available for Eargo 5 through 7 (current) and is compatible with both iOS 12.0+ and Android 7.0+. The app has many useful features such as volume adjustments, noise filter levels, and various programs. It also provides access to Sound Match, which is Eargo’s on-ear hearing assessment. This emulates the traditional “beep” test and helps personalize the device's amplification settings for your individual needs.

The app automatically prompted me to complete Sound Match when I first paired my Eargo 7 hearing aids to my iPhone. This started a roughly 10-minute hearing assessment which I completed in a quiet, non distracting room. The final step of Sound Match involved choosing up to 3 listening environments which were most appropriate for my lifestyle. These were then personalized based on my hearing assessment results. Sound Match can be repeated anytime from the app Menu. 

After Sound Match was completed I gained full access to the Volume, Noise, and Programs tabs. The first page was straightforward and allowed me to either adjust overall amplification or mute my devices. Adjustments can be made to both hearing aids simultaneously or on a left/right basis with the center “link” button.

The Noise tab allowed me to set the noise filter level between off and maximum reduction. The user manual indicates that this temporarily overrides the default setting in your active program and can help reduce the annoyance of steady environmental noises by up to 10 or 15 decibels (Medium and High settings respectively). 

The Noise tab also allowed me to make changes to Sound Adjust+, which has been updated in Eargo 7 to improve overall sound quality in difficult listening situations. Sound Adjust+ does this by analyzing the environment and automatically adjusting settings to either improve speech clarity or reduce noise for comfort. While this feature is always running, this tab allowed me to override the automatic setting and quickly audition whether “Emphasize Speech” or "Reduce noise for comfort” was better given my situation. It is worth noting that Sound Adjust+ works on top of the noise filter we previously discussed and both return to the default setting anytime you change programs.

The final app tab allowed me to switch between various programs. Eargo 7 defaults to “Preset” 1 through 4, which progressively increase amplification for speech. However, if you complete Sound Match, as I did when testing these devices, you are able to select up to four more specific presets such as Restaurant, TV, or Music. These will all be personalized to your Sound Match results and can be further personalized on a program-by-program basis. 

While Eargo 7 hearing aids do not have onboard buttons, you can change the settings manually by double tapping the skin by your ear—Eargo will pick up on the vibrations and cycle between either the four default presets or your custom selected programs. This feature worked flawlessly for me and was much preferable to taking out my phone for simple program changes. With that said, manual adjustments are limited to the programs, not volume control, and must be performed separately for both ears as Eargo hearing aids do not sync with one another. 

How Do They Sound?

As a general disclaimer, my hearing sensitivity falls within normal limits and my experiences with these devices therefore do not reflect an individual with hearing loss. My subjective commentary does however draw from my experience as both an audio engineer and audiologist. 

I had my Eargo 7 hearing aids programmed to a standard N3 mild-to-moderate sloping hearing loss configuration1.  This allowed me to listen to how they perform while providing amplification for a common hearing loss. After wearing them for a short period of time, I was impressed with their sound quality. Their small size provided an “open” fit that kept my voice sounding natural and did not leave me feeling plugged. Their clarity sounded on par with other traditional hearing aids available. 

During everyday situations, they provided clean amplification without noticeable distortions or artifacts. Both the manual and automatic Sound Adjust+ setting changes were smooth and not jarring. It was evident that the noise reduction features worked well in decreasing the overall hearing aid volume so listening levels were more comfortable.

I did not necessarily notice a significant improvement in speech in noise clarity—which makes sense as my ear canals remained open receiving noise from the environment irrespective of any Eargo processed sound. The only time I experienced undesirable distortion was when outside in mid-to-high windy situations. Wind will commonly result in decreased sound quality for many hearing devices due to the microphone placement. With that said, Eargo 7 has less wind “crackling” as they were positioned down in my ears. 

Many of the sound quality benefits of Eargo can be attributed to their non-occluding placement in the ear canal. This allows you to hear sound naturally while Eargo adds the icing on top. This is also one of the reasons why RIC hearing aids have become so popular. What’s more, Eargo devices process sound quickly (roughly 5 milliseconds as measured by HearAdvisor™) meaning they minimize the phasey metallica sound quality some people experience when wearing open-fit hearing devices. 

What is the Biggest Drawback of Eargo 7? 

Bluetooth™ has become commonplace in hearing technology offering either wireless control and or audio streaming. While Eargo devices use Bluetooth, and have wireless control capabilities, it is not implemented as efficiently as other devices I have tested. 

Eargo 7 utilizes Bluetooth to connect your iOS or Android phone to the Charger. The Charger is then able to transfer data to the hearing aids when they are placed within it. Other adjustments, such as volume and program switching, are accomplished by a separate patented protocol called Eargo Ultra Sonic (EUS). Unlike Bluetooth, which uses radio waves, EUS relies on your phone emitting high frequency chirps to transmit commands.

I found EUS occasionally unreliable when making changes in the app. As adjustments are transferred by acoustic chirps from your phone speakers, it relies heavily on your phone's volume, distance, and even head orientation. It was often unclear whether adjustments were appropriately transferred to both devices, just one, or neither. This was ultimately aggravating compared to a traditional Bluetooth connection and I could see it being a significant barrier for some less tech-savvy users. 

This begs the question, why does Eargo use EUS? Well their devices are so small that traditional Bluetooth capabilities are limited. They have chosen to compromise wireless connectivity to improve their devices' discreteness. This also means that there is currently no audio streaming to Eargo hearing aids.

My Overall Opinion

Eargo is a long-time player in the DTC market and they make reliable, discrete, wireless hearing aids. Their latest device, Eargo 7, has some minor programming updates but otherwise maintains the small size and 16 hour rechargeable battery life of the previous generation. It also still relies on EUS for wireless app adjustments which was not found to be as user friendly or reliable as traditional Bluetooth. Objective data from HearAdvisor™ also suggests that Eargo 7 offers similar speech intelligibility improvements to their previous generation. Those interested in Eargo 7 should ultimately prioritize discreteness over wireless benefits such as audio streaming or other accessories.