Link by Eargo OTC Hearing Aid Review: Features, Pricing, and Independent Lab Review

Link by Eargo (Eargo Link) was introduced in late-January 2024 at the same times as Eargo SE, and is a self-fitting earbud-style rechargeable over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid priced at $799. Eargo Link represents a fairly radical departure from the company’s traditional product line of nearly-invisible completely-in-canal (CIC) hearing aids like the much more expensive Eargo 6 and Eargo 7 ($1,950-$2,950). This new hybrid earbud/hearing aid features Bluetooth 5.3 capabilities for music and phone call streaming yet still maintains the company’s hallmark of discreet, low-profile design and reliable hearing loss support.

At less than half the price of the recently released Eargo SE ($1,650) and about a quarter the price of Eargo 7, Link by Eargo expands the company’s portfolio and commitment to innovative, affordable hearing solutions with robust online support. Eargo Link has more of the look and feel of a hearable versus a traditional hearing aid, which should make it cater to both younger and older users who have mild-to-moderate hearing loss. And with a $799 price tag, it puts it squarely into the same competitive market as other economical earbud-type OTC hearing aid hybrids like the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799), Sony CRE-C10 ($799), and Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus ($650).

Who is Link by Eargo for?

Link by Eargo provides good advanced technology and sound quality, including Bluetooth audio streaming and many of the same core hearing aid technologies that you’ll find in other Eargo products and their best OTC competitors. These hearing aids should do well amplifying conversations in quiet and moderately noisy environments and can be particularly useful for situational hearing challenges like meetings, places of worship, and TV listening.

Link by Eargo is a "wear-and-go" type hearing aid that is not programmed for your unique hearing loss profile based on results from a hearing test. Instead, the aids rely on presets that should help you hear better if you have what's considered a "typical" mild-to-moderate hearing loss. If you have a more complex or severe hearing loss profile, you're probably better off with a self-fitting OTC hearing aid or, even better, a prescriptive hearing aid from an audiologist or hearing aid specialist. You can take good online hearing tests to get a ballpark audiogram and estimate of your hearing status. Additionally, many hearing care offices offer free testing (and you keep your audiogram results regardless of a purchase decision).

Be aware that Eargo Link hearing aids offer 9 hours of use, which is shorter than most aids, so they may not be the best choice if you're looking for an all-day hearing solution.

Who is Eargo?

Founded in San Jose, Calif, in 2010, Eargo is one of the best-known OTC hearing aid manufacturers. In fact, it was offering a quality “online DIY hearing solution” even before the FDA established the OTC category in October 2022 and was among the first to gain FDA clearance for its OTC hearing aids.

Traditionally, Eargo has also had a unique market strategy. Rather than competing with low-priced online hearing aid marketers, Eargo has competed primarily with more expensive custom hearing aids sold in clinics by audiologists and hearing aid specialists. In a recent interview, Eargo told HearingTracker that it does this by combining a unique, advanced OTC product with extensive customer support.

This is what makes Eargo's newest products, Link by Eargo and Eargo SE, such an exciting prospect: they are the company’s first foray into head-to-head price competition with mid- and higher-priced OTC hearing aids—and both new products come with Eargo's outstanding online service and support.

Eargo was a NASDAQ-listed company, but in November 2023, it announced a definitive merger agreement with Patient Square Capital, which then took the company private. The transaction helped Eargo move beyond a 2022 US Department of Justice investigation that alleged Eargo submitted improper insurance reimbursement claims to pay for customers’ hearing aids. Eargo denied the allegations and reached a settlement that did not require an admission of liability. However, this put the company in a financially difficult situation from which it is only now emerging.

Key Technology Features of Link by Eargo

Link by Eargo gives you many of the advanced technologies people have come to expect in both hearing aids and audio headphones, including Active Noise Cancellation, Noise Reduction, and Feedback Cancellation. These are also the first Eargo hearing aids to be large enough to have directional microphones, a proven solution for better hearing in noise.

In Eargo Link, there are 4 pre-set listening programs for adjusting the devices to your hearing needs (i.e., Low, Medium, High, and Max), and you can tap on an earbud to change the program step-wise in volume in ears simultaneously. There is also a Mute function.

When in the Hearing Aid Mode, a single tap can bring you back to music and audio streaming. You can also use a single tap to answer a phone call, and a double tap can end a call or reject an incoming call.

As noted above, Link by Eargo does not provide a more advanced self-fit system in which you take a hearing test, and the system programs the aid to compensate for your hearing loss. Rather, it is a "wear-and-go" type aid that relies on preset programs designed for typical mild-to-moderate hearing losses.

The new Eargo Link hearing aid offers up to 9 hours of runtime, depending on the mode. This is significantly shorter than many other prescriptive and OTC hearing aids, arguably placing it between a full-day and situational-use hearing device. It comes with a portable recharging case that holds 4 charge cycles so you can recharge easily on the go. Eargo says it takes about 1.5 hours to fully charge the depleted charger and about 2 hours to charge both the charger and aids.

There have been two “knocks” on past Eargo devices: their lack of Bluetooth audio streaming capabilities for phone calls and media, and (as noted previously) their high price tag relative to other OTC hearing devices. There are good reasons for both. First, to be fair, almost all tiny hearing aids—especially those in the completely-in-canal (CIC) style—do not feature Bluetooth audio streaming; in fact, the only CIC with this that I’m aware of is the Starkey Genesis AI CIC (but it’s not rechargeable). It should also be noted that Eargo hearing aids do use an app, so technically, they are wireless devices.

Second, Eargo will correctly contend that its higher prices are at least partially due to the service it provides customers. Eargo by Link includes lifetime remote support. Online support can be extremely important, particularly if you’re new to hearing aids and/or plan on wearing the devices for several years, which almost certainly means you’ll need replacement parts or guidance in the event of a malfunction or repair.

It’s also worth noting that, like all hearing aids, Eargo Link is not immune to breakage or malfunction. It has an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of IP54, offering some protection against dust and water splashes. However, this is lower than many OTC hearing devices and substantially lower than most quality prescription hearing aids, which have IP68 ratings—the "gold standard" for hearing aids. To ensure its longevity, it's advised you avoid exposing the devices to moist environments and things like driving rainfall or very dirty or dusty environments. The Eargo 1-year warranty includes unlimited repairs, providing peace of mind (visit eargo.com/warranty for full details).

New Mobile App

In late-May 2024, Eargo announced a new mobile app that introduces a Transparency Mode as well as new customization options for Link by Eargo. The Transparency Mode, like those of similar audio devices, lets you be aware of your immediate environment while also staying connected to your streaming audio when listening to music, podcasts, etc.

You can now also switch listening modes faster in the app and customize them:

Use the Link by Eargo app to select from Eargo's 4 preset programs and manage the volume levels within each program. You can fine-tune the volume in each program for another 6 dB of gain.

Additionally, you can also use the app to:

• Adjust the Noise Reduction settings or turn them off completely. This feature enhances speech clarity while minimizing background noise, helping to make conversation clearer.
• Turn on/off the Wind Noise Reduction and Active Noise Cancellation features so you can focus on the sounds you're most interested in hearing.
• Battery life and charger status indicators in the app give you assurance of how much power you have left in the devices.

With the above, Eargo also made some other tweaks to improve the usability of Link by Eargo. For example, there is now some lag time between when you remove the devices from the charger and when the tap sensors become active, so you're not inadvertently changing programs when putting the hearing aids in or out of your ears.

As we've noted in some other hearing aid product reviews, tap controls can be tricky and sometimes frustrating to master. Eargo has now provided an option to disable their tap control altogether (meaning you'd just use the app for adjustments). Similarly, if you don't like the indicator tones that let you know when you're changing modes, playing streamed music, etc., you can now deactivate those too.

Independent lab test results and sound samples for Link by Eargo

Link by Eargo scored very well at the HearAdvisor independent testing lab with a SoundScore of 3.9—within a whisker (one-tenth of a percent) of getting HearAdvisor’s coveted Expert Choice Award. Essentially, this means it received a B+ instead of an A grade. At this writing, it ranks as the 9th best out of 37 OTC hearing aids tested by HearAdvisor and 20th best over all 66 hearing aids tested (including prescription hearing aids dispensed by professionals).

Because Eargo Link is new, we don't have any verifiable user reviews we can cite at the moment. However, you can grab a set of quality headphones and listen to sound samples from the HearAdvisor Lab yourself by clicking on the red buttons below and listen to the device for yourself.

Where do you buy Link by Eargo and what do you get?

You can find Link by Eargo at the Eargo website and at retailers like Best Buy and on Amazon for $799. Eargo also has a partnership with Victra, a Verizon-authorized reseller with 1,500 retail outlets that have reportedly trained their staff members about Eargo products. The company also recently inked a deal with NationsBenefits, a leading provider of supplemental benefits, financing assistance, and member engagement solutions for health plans.

You can try out the Link by Eargo with a 45-day return window. If you return it within that time period, you'll get your money back. So don't throw out the box and any of the supplied materials until you're sure it's right for you.

When you receive your Link by Eargo box, you’ll see that it contains a set of earbuds and a portable charger with a USB-C to USB-A cord. It comes with one pair each of small, medium, and large eartips in both closed and open configurations (i.e., 6 total eartips). In general, if you anticipate using the devices more for amplifying person-to-person conversations in quiet, start by trying the open-vented tips; if you’ll use them more for steamed audio or listening to speech in background noise, start with the closed tips. You can try the various eartip vent types and sizes and then choose which one suits you best.

The kit includes two user guides: one contains regulatory, warranty, and technical specs, while the other provides practical information on setting up and using the devices. The kit also includes a brush tool for cleaning the earbuds and receiver ports.

Eargo also provides support via several online video tutorials, and trouble-shooting guides. If you get stuck, you can contact one of their team members by phone (855-745-1530 or via web chat.

Possible alternatives to Link by Eargo

• If like Eargo technology and support, it also offers its new Eargo SE, and the more expensive Eargo 5, Eargo 6, and Eargo 7 OTC hearing aids.
• If you’re looking for an earbud-style rechargeable OTC hearing aid like Link by Eargo for around the same price or less, you may also want to check into Jabra Enhance Plus ($800), Sony CRE-C10 ($800), Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus ($650), and HP Pro/Nuheara ($500).
• If you’re looking for OTC hearing aids that provide a fair amount of online support, onboarding, and service, like Eargo, you may wish to consider the OTC hearing aids offered by Lexie Hearing, Jabra Enhance, and Audicus.

Final verdict on Link by Eargo

As a long-time observer of the industry, it appears Eargo is trying to position its Link by Eargo squarely against the other earbud-style rechargeable OTC hearing aids mentioned above from Jabra, Sony, and Sennheiser that range from about $500 to $800—all relatively successful players in the market. If this is the case, they did a good job. Link by Eargo is a quality "wear-and-go" hearing aid. Although it has a shorter battery life and doesn't feature an in-app customizable fitting system, it should serve well as a quick, mid-range OTC hearing solution for those struggling to hear in some listening situations and who also want good-quality audio streaming from both Apple iOS and Android devices.