Go Hearing Ultra is an affordable instant-fit OTC hearing aid offering wireless streaming and hands-free phone calls. It is comfortable and easy to use but we were not overly impressed with its ability to make speech clear.

Pros of the Go Ultra

  • Low Cost
    Go Ultra is a lower-cost OTC hearing aid offering Bluetooth streaming and hands-free calls.
  • Rechargeable
    The rechargeable features are impressive and most people should see a full day of use as they can last up to 20 hours. The included carrying case also includes an internal power bank offering additional charges.
  • Comfortable
    Go Ultra are lightweight and comfortable on the ear. The additional slim tubes, measuring tool, and ear tips should help most people find a comfortable fitting.
  • DIY Option
    Those not able, or otherwise interested, in seeking professional help will like that Go Ultra can be purchased online and fit by yourself in the comforts of your home. They are a direct-to-consumer OTC product and do not require you to visit a doctor's office.

Cons of the Go Ultra

  • Poor Sound Performance
    Other devices offer better speech clarity and speech-in-noise benefits.
  • Dated Product Design
    Go Ultra are antiquated in their overall design given the slightly larger size and slim-tube design.
  • No Smartphone App
    While it is nice to get a break from mobile devices, controlling Go Ultra is limited to manual multi-function buttons. An app would be a nice addition.
  • Limited Personalization
    Audio personalization is lacking as there is no on-ear hearing assessment, ability to input audiometric data, or other frequency-specific adjustments to Go Ultra’s amplification. This also limits professional tuning of Go Ultra hearing aids should you seek help from an audiologist in the fitting process.
  • Limited Volume
    Go Ultra is an OTC product and therefore only appropriate for certain people with a mild-to-moderate perceived hearing loss.
  • Limited Moisture Resistance
    Go Ultra do not have great resistance to moisture or debris with an IP rating of 54.

Who is the Go Ultra hearing aid for?

As an FDA-registered OTC hearing aid, Go Ultra is aimed at those individuals who have no greater than mild-to-moderate hearing loss. It is an accessible and convenient solution—the product is ordered online and delivered directly to your door, with no need to visit a hearing care provider.

Go Ultra is a convenient rechargeable hearing aid with Bluetooth streaming.
Go Ultra is a convenient rechargeable hearing aid with Bluetooth streaming.

Go Ultra has been designed with simplicity in mind. You won't need a smartphone app and there are no complex setup procedures. Go Ultra instead offers manual adjustments through easy-to-use multi-function buttons. This makes the device particularly attractive to those who value straightforward and intuitive operations.

The product also strikes a balance between quality and cost-effectiveness. Priced at $499, Go Ultra offers certain features that are typically associated with higher-end devices, such as rechargeability and Bluetooth streaming capabilities. And the product is under the umbrella of hearX (which owns Lexie and Go Hearing), a reputable hearing tech company based in South Africa.

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For tech-savvy users who regard streaming as a key feature, Go Ultra doesn't disappoint. The device offers Bluetooth streaming and hands-free calling, a feature that is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms. Overall, were it not for underwhelming sound performance, Go Ultra would be a viable option for many potential users given its combination of accessibility, simplicity, affordability, and tech-forward approach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Possibly, with limited benefits. When tested in the HearAdvisor™ lab Go Ultra was found to offer minimal speech enhancement benefits in both quiet and noise.

Go Hearing products are available online directly from their website. They can also be purchased through other online retailers such as BestBuy, QVC, CVS Pharmacies, and Walgreens.

There are many factors at play when comparing OTC to Rx products, but most people will see a greater benefit with Rx devices. Rx, or prescription hearing aids, are fit by professionals who have a greater knowledge of the hearing system and can perform various measures to optimize a fitting. Rx devices also offer more adjustments, both physical and through programming, to better meet the needs of an individual and their hearing loss.

Yes, the rechargeable batteries offer up to 20 hours of battery life per charge (less depending on environmental factors and streaming). It takes less than 3 hours to fully charge Go Ultra after being placed in their charger. 

While there are no hard and fast rules, prescription hearing aids typically last between 3 to 5 years. This is due to their better build quality, more regular maintenance with a hearing care provider, and higher water resistance. Go Ultra hearing aids can be expected to have a shorter lifespan than this. Their build quality and feel in-hand is decent however, their IP rating of 54 suggests moisture and debris may be a problem long term. Go Hearing is still a relatively new company so there is not much information available about the longevity users have experienced. 

Who Makes Go Ultra?

Go Ultra is manufactured by Huizhou Jinghau Medical Technology, based in China, and distributed by hearX USA under the Go Hearing brand. The hearX group, which also distributes Bose hearing aid technology through its Lexie Hearing brand, is based in Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa.

Go Hearing launched Go Ultra, its first behind-the-ear (BTE) style rechargeable hearing aid, on the QVC shopping network in May of 2022. Go Ultra can now be purchased directly from Go Hearing’s website as well as other online retailers such as Best Buy for $499 a pair. This makes Go Ultra one of the lowest priced OTC devices on the market to offer both rechargeability and hands-free Bluetooth capabilities.

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Go Hearing also offers the in-the-ear style Go Prime ($299) and Go Lite ($199) OTC hearing aids. All Go Hearing products come with a 45-day risk-free return policy and 1-year warranty.

Unboxing Go Ultra

In the box you will find your pair of Go Ultra hearing aids, a charging case, various ear tip sizes and styles, several slim tub sizes, an ear measuring tool, cleaning supplies, charging cable and wall power adapter, and user manuals. Go Ultra will need to be charged (more on this later) and it is wise to check your ear size with the provided measuring tool before their first use. An extra set of eyes will help though your smartphone can be used to snap a quick picture. Be sure to reference the user manual for assistance with this and selecting the appropriate slim tube and ear tip combination. 

Unboxing of Go Hearing Go Ultra devices. The charge case is also included and can be seen in other images below.
Unboxing of Go Hearing Go Ultra devices. The charge case is also included and can be seen in other images below.

Comfortable enough on my ears

How do Go Ultra hearing aids feel on ear? Well, they seem rather large compared to other OTC and prescription devices. The slim tube is also much stiffer than the wires found on receiver-in-ear (RIC) hearing aids. Fortunately, I did not find these physical differences to be a deal breaker and influence comfort significantly. They are still lightweight at 4g per hearing aid and sit comfortably once positioned properly. Those who wear corrective lenses may notice that their glasses sit on top of Go Ultra, as opposed to alongside them, due to their slightly wider bodies. Most people should have no problems finding a good overall fit with the selection of slim tubes and domes. 

Go Ultra on my ears for hands-on testing of sound quality, buttons, and audio streaming.
Go Ultra on my ears for hands-on testing of sound quality, buttons, and audio streaming.

Controlling the Go Ultra hearing aids

Go Ultra are functionally very easy to use and will feel familiar to anyone who has previous experience with a RIC or BTE hearing aid. Adjusting settings is easier than some other devices thanks to the larger button size, physical feel, and audio indicators. 

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Go Ultra have a familiar seesaw-like up and down multi-function button. This can be found on the back of each hearing aid and provides adjustment to power, volume, program changes, and audio settings while streaming phone calls. These adjustments should be fairly straightforward as they are similar to what many other hearing aids offer. I found them to provide enough helpful control without being too confusing. Go Ultra’s multi-function button controls are summarized in the table below.  

ButtonFunction
Short press upIncreases volume
Short press downDecreases the volume; Accepts, rejects, or ends phone call while streaming
Long press up (3 sec)Turns Go Ultra on or off
Long press down (3 sec)Cycles between the 4 available programs

Controlling the multi-function rocker switch

The volume control has 10 available steps and defaults to a middle setting of 5. This should provide plenty of volume adjustment for most situations. You will hear a single tone for volume adjustments and three consecutive beeps when you reach the top or bottom of the volume range. 

A multi-function rocker switch can be seen on the rear face of the hearing aids’ body. The larger buttons are easier to find and engage for changing various settings.
A multi-function rocker switch can be seen on the rear face of the hearing aids’ body. The larger buttons are easier to find and engage for changing various settings.

Four unique listening programs

Go Ultra also provides four listening programs which can be accessed by a long-press of the down button. The programs are as follows: 

  1. Normal: This is the default program which is designed for general use. 
  2. High-Frequency Setting: This program increases high frequency gain and is designed to help improve speech clarity. Go Hearing also recommends using this setting in noisy situations. 
  3. Low-Frequency Setting: Opposite the previous setting, this program provides more gain in the lower frequencies. This may improve music quality and or be more appropriate for those with a low-frequency hearing loss. 
  4. General Amplification Setting: The final program provides additional volume to all sounds. 

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You can change between these programs by pressing and holding the bottom multi-function button for 3 seconds. This allows you to cycle through the programs in the order listed above and you will hear one to four beeps indicating the corresponding setting. Go Hearing does not have an associated phone app so adjustments must be made manually. Furthermore, the hearing aids do not communicate with one another so any changes need to be made to both devices independently. This holds true for both program and volume adjustments.

A nice feature that helps combat the independent adjustments is a memory recall function. Meaning, Go Ultra hearing aids save your settings when powered off and return to them the next time you use them. This is a nice feature that should help reduce the number of times you will be reaching for the multi-function button.

Bluetooth streaming and hands-free capabilities

Go Ultra has impressive wireless capabilities offering audio streaming and hands-free phone calls with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and other proprietary algorithms. These features are available for Android (7 and above) or iOS (13 and above) mobile devices. The Bluetooth version of your phone should be 4.0 or higher. Setting up wireless control is straightforward and best completed after the devices are adjusted to best fit your ears and fully charged. A detailed description of the pairing process can be found here or in the user manual.

The wireless features are rather basic but this provides for a simple setup and short learning curve. It is also understandable given the lower cost of Go Ultra hearing aids. Here are a few unique points that arose while testing the wireless capabilities of Go Ultra:

  • Coordinated streaming volume: Volume adjustments while streaming are binaural, or in both ears. This differs from general use which requires independent adjustment of each device.
  • Hands-free controls: For hands-free calling, Go Ultra allow you to adjust volume (up or down) and accept/reject/end calls (short press of the down button). However, adjustments while streaming audio are limited to volume control. There is no feature for pausing or skipping tracks with the multi-function buttons at this time.
  • Amplification while streaming: Go Ultra hearing aids continue to amplify environmental sounds while using Bluetooth.
  • Limited streaming personalization: Program changes do not influence streamed audio.
  • Program button disabled while streaming: The program button seems to be disabled while streaming audio. You have to first pause audio on your phone and then switch programs with a long press of the down button.
  • Annoying sounds: You may hear a short pop or click when starting or stopping streamed audio on your phone. This is not loud though it can be annoying.

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Lastly, streamed audio quality is nothing to write home about but it is a useful feature that worked reliably during my testing. More on audio quality later.

Power and Rechargeability

Go Ultra are rechargeable and offer up to a reported 20 hours of battery life. Other actions such as streaming, using high volume settings, and various environmental factors will drain the batteries quicker. Here are estimates of Go Ultra’s battery life in various conditions:

  1. 20 Hours: Normal use without Bluetooth connection to a mobile device.
  2. 8 Hours: Go Ultra is Bluetooth connected but not streaming.
  3. 2.5 - 3 Hours: Constant streaming of calls, music, or other media.

Charging Go Ultra is as easy as placing them in the corresponding left/right magnetic bays of their charge case. Charging begins automatically and will take 2-2.5 hours from a fully depleted battery. There is no need to set a timer as lights on the front of the case will change from blue to green when they are ready. Furthermore, Go Ultra turn off automatically when charging so feedback does not occur.

Charge Time

When first using Go Ultra, be sure to remove the small sticker towards the bottom of the hearing aids otherwise the conducting pins will not make contact while charging. It is also important to place the hearing aids in the appropriate left/right charger bays as mismatching devices can also result in poor connection.

Lastly, the included case has an internal power bank offering an additional 3 to 7.5 charges (the manual and website offer conflicting information, respectively). The case is durable, includes a power switch, and can be charged simultaneously with Ultra hearing aids. My only complaint is that the power port is located on the bottom of the case, making it sit awkwardly on its back when plugged into a wall.

Lab Testing with HearAdvisor™

When tested in the HearAdvisor™ lab, Go Ultra hearing aids showed minimal speech enhancement benefits in quiet to moderately loud environments. Performance worsened when increasing to loud environments. This may result in-part due to Ultra offering limited amplification in the higher frequencies which are more important for speech clarity. Ultra also has only a single microphone per device and does not therefore have the directional benefits of beamforming multi-microphones. 

Go Ultra hearing aids on KEMAR (acoustic manikin) for testing in the HearAdvisor™ lab.
Go Ultra hearing aids on KEMAR (acoustic manikin) for testing in the HearAdvisor™ lab.

Feedback performance was good showing no signs of whistling even when Ultra were completely covered. The larger double-flange ear tips likely contributed to this though they did result in more overall occlusion, or a vocal “boominess” when speaking. Ultra’s streamed audio quality was good being slightly above average for an OTC hearing aid.

Biggest drawbacks of Go Ultra

Go Ultra can be connected to a mobile device but there is currently no associated app; adjustments to volume and programs must be made manually with the multi-function buttons. Furthermore, any adjustments must be made independently to both devices.

The other major drawback of Go Ultra is that they don't function particularly well as hearing aids. While streaming audio was good, amplification for speech—in both quiet and noisy situations—was poor.

Where can you buy Go Ultra?

Go Hearing products are available online directly from GoHearing.com. They can also be purchased through other online retailers such as BestBuy, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens, and QVC.

Final thoughts on Go Ultra

Go Ultra is a lower cost OTC hearing aid offering desirable tech features like audio streaming and hands-free phone calls. These features are available without the need to install an app or regularly navigate complicated menus. However, this also leaves Ultra somewhat limited from an adjustments standpoint.

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While the physical aspects of Ultra are no issue given the extra components, we found it to fall short on speech benefits especially compared to other OTC and hearable technology at a similar price point. With that said, individuals with a milder degree of hearing loss may find some benefits in quiet and enjoy the streaming capabilities without the price tag of a more typical prescription device. If you try Go Ultra, consider follow-up with a hearing care professional for on-ear testing as this can verify just how much benefit you are receiving.

What other products should I consider?

Lexie Lumen is a logical alternative to Go Ultra given their shared parent company hearX, and given they both use slim tubes. Lumen hearing aids are slightly more expensive at $799 (compared to $499 for Ultra) though Lexie offers monthly payments and other special rewards which can help offset the cost difference.

Lexie Lumen
Score
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Lexie Lumen

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  • Listen to this device

Product Features
  • Hands-free calling
    No
  • Rechargeable
    No
  • iPhone Streaming
    No
  • Android Streaming
    No
  • IP Rating
    IP67
Expert Review

Lumen devices are similar to Go Ultra in both size and style however, they have several added benefits for the more tech-interested individual. Lumen are a true self-fitting device offering an app based hearing assessment and greater customization through the Lexie app. Remote-care is also available and included in the cost of Lexie devices. 

Lexie Lumen are not currently rechargeable and require the more antiquated size 312 disposable batteries. This is not necessarily a downside though most hearing products are moving away from the disposable battery model. Another more noteworthy downside to Lumen hearing aids is that they do not currently offer audio streaming or hands-free calling.

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Both Lexie Lumen and Lexie B2 Powered by Bose (another hearX product) are viable alternatives to Go Ultra. The pros and cons of Lumen hearing aids are discussed above, and B2 take it one step further offering Bluetooth streaming, rechargeability, and improved water resistance. Both of these devices also outperformed Ultra in the HearAdvisor™ lab with the Lexie B2 being a recipient of the 2023 HearAdvisor Expert Choice Award. 

Lexie Powered by Bose B2
Score
0.0

Lexie Powered by Bose B2

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The Lexie B2 Plus Powered by Bose is an over-the-counter, self-fitting hearing aid priced at $999 per pair, designed for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. This rechargeable device offers iPhone and Android call streaming, a new recharging case, and an in-app hearing test for personalized sound customization.

  • Listen to this device

Ideal for
  • Value
Product Features
  • Hands-free calling
    No
  • Rechargeable
    Yes
  • iPhone Streaming
    Yes
  • Android Streaming
    No
  • IP Rating
    N/A
Expert Review

Go Ultra, Lumen, and B2 can be purchased for $499, $799, and $999 respectively. While the escalating price may be off-putting, the feature set and speech-in-noise benefits may be well worth the extra expense for some individuals interested in an OTC hearing solution.

HearAdvisor Disclaimer

HearAdvisor is an independent testing lab that uses specific testing protocols to improve the accuracy, replicability, and reliability of device comparisons. All technologies are programmed or adjusted to best meet the audibility needs for a person with mild sloping to moderate hearing loss. HearAdvisor also uses a series of decision trees, documented in the white paper found on HearAdvisor.com, to select specific listening programs or noise-handling features. As such, the reported data will not reflect device performance reliably across the range of use cases and possible hearing losses. If you have more or less hearing loss, or a different pattern of hearing loss, HearAdvisor’s data and audio samples will not be representative of the performance and sound quality you will experience with hearing aids configured for your own unique needs.