Horizon Mini IX Hearing Aid from Hear.com

Horizon Mini IX is a rechargeable, completely-in-canal (CIC) hearing aid from Hear.com that offers world-class technology in a tiny, nearly invisible hearing aid that is fit in person by a licensed hearing care professional (although telecare is also available). Although Hear.com does not advertise the cost of these aids, and they likely vary from practice to practice, and you can expect them to cost somewhere between $3,000-6,500 per pair.

Hear.com offers two hearing aids in its Horizon IX product line: the Horizon Mini IX CIC and the Horizon Go IX Receiver-in-Canal (RIC). Both products use technology that represents an update to the previous Horizon AX platform and share design and features found in the Signia Silk Charge&Go IX CIC and Signia Pure Charge&Go RIC, respectively.

Below we'll tell you everything you need to know about the Horizon IX Mini, including what it is, who it's for, what's unique about it, as well as how you can get it and what it costs.

Who is the Horizon Mini IX for?

The Horizon Mini IX is ideal for those looking for a prescription hearing aid that is cosmetically appealing and easy to use. It’s appropriate for mild to moderate hearing losses and is designed to provide good sound quality even in noisy situations. However, if you have a very difficult time in noisy situations and/or a more significant hearing loss, then you may want to try a larger hearing aid, like the Horizon Go IX, that has room to incorporate directional microphones, motion sensors, and other features to take full advantage of the IX technology platform. In addition, if you like the idea of streaming phone calls, music, etc., to your hearing aids, that’s not possible with the Mini IX as it does not incorporate Bluetooth functionality.

Finally, if you have had surgery on your ear canal or have been told you have very narrow or small ear canals, the Mini IX may not be for you. This hearing aid is meant to be a ready-to-fit solution and comes with several different-sized ear tips, but it may not be comfortable or appropriate for everyone. A custom earmold may be possible, but be sure to discuss your options with your hearing care provider.

The hearing aid fitting process at Hear.com

Hear.com is not a direct hearing care provider; instead, their model is to take online leads, connect consumers with a Hear.com expert for a personal consultation, and then connect them to a local provider for a 45-day risk-free trial of hearing aids. If a provider is a long distance from the consumer and/or transportation is an issue, Clinic-in-a-Box™ tele-audiology is also an option. However, keep in mind that not all hearing care providers will offer the tele-audiology option and/or not all products (like Horizon Mini IX) will support remote programming.

If tele-audiology is requested, within one business day, a package containing hearing aids, a tablet and diagnostic equipment is shipped to the customer’s house. These items allow a hearing care provider to conduct a hearing evaluation and remotely fit the hearing aids. You can also take a free hearing screening test online at Hear.com. This can give you some basic information about your hearing status; however, for purposes of fitting a hearing aid, a more professional test will need to be done before fitting.

Unfortunately, the free online hearing test can’t be completed at the Hear.com website without providing personal information such as phone number, e-mail address, etc. As you might expect, they want to capture this information for marketing purposes. There are plenty of online hearing tests available with many not requiring you to enter person identification information. HearingTracker has summarized some of the best online hearing tests in a separate article.

Regardless of the fitting approach, either in-person or remote, the journey with Hear.com starts with a free phone or video conference consultation. This consult is used to understand your individual listening needs, lifestyle requirements, and personal listening preferences. Items such as technology tiers, cost, and insurance coverage are also discussed to help the consumer navigate their hearing healthcare options. At the end of the consult, a technology solution and a local hearing care provider recommendation are made (for either remote or in-person care).

The Hear.com expert remains as a contact for the wearer even after they are fit by the local provider and can be used as a resource, especially during the 45-day trial period. There are a few online reports of customer service not being as responsive as some consumers might like after the fitting, but others report excellent service.

Your hearing loss, listening needs, and budget will determine which hearing aids are recommended. However, keep in mind that brands associated with WS Audiology, the owner of Hear.com, will naturally take precedence over other brands. Hear.com and its network does work with other hearing aid manufacturers, including Oticon, ReSound, Phonak, and Starkey.

Not all local hearing care providers will work with Hear.com, so it is possible you won’t be referred to someone you are familiar with in your immediate area. Hear.com provides customer referrals to your local hearing healthcare office, and that provider agrees to certain terms in order to work with Hear.com, including receiving reimbursement for their time working with you. However, because those terms may not be viewed as favorable to the provider and/or because they limit the amount of care needed, some dispensers and audiologists will choose not to participate with Hear.com (the same is true for WSA's TruHearing managed care referral business). Regardless, Hear.com reports that as of May 2024 they are working with approximately 2,000 US hearing care providers. It is likely that some of those providers included within that number are part of the HearUSA retail network.

Horizon Mini IX technology highlights

In early 2024, Hear.com introduced two new products to their branded product offerings, including the ready-to-fit Mini IX CIC and the Horizon Go IX RIC. Both products replace the previous technology platform of Horizon Go AX and are prescription hearing aids professionally programmed by a hearing healthcare provider.

The hearing aids are based upon the Signia IX or “Integrated Xperience” platform—Signia’s latest hearing technology. They are offered in different “performance” levels, including 7, 5, 3. The highest level of technology will offer all the available features of the chip, but as you move down in performance levels (and price), you lose certain features and sophistication. Both products are rechargeable and come with a charging case.

Specific to the Horizon Mini IX, you’ll see that it looks identical to the Signia Silk Charge&Go IX (see below). This ready-to-wear hearing aid is small and, once placed in the ear, is meant to be nearly invisible. Mini IX is suitable for mild to moderate hearing losses and for many will be easy to insert/remove from the ear via the removal cord.

It should be noted though that not all ears will accommodate the hearing aid. That is, if you have very narrow or small ear canals, this hearing aid may not fit or be comfortable to wear. For most though, it should be comfortable to wear and fit well in the ear via a choice of several different size/shape of sleeves. The company notes a fit rate of approximately 70%, meaning that for 30% of the population, these hearing aids will not fit properly or be comfortable for long term use.

While the hearing aid is quite small and offers excellent cosmetics, because of the small physical size of the Mini IX not all of the IX platform’s capabilities are available. For example, there simply isn’t room for Bluetooth^®, meaning you can’t stream phone calls, music and other audio directly to your hearing aids. Also, due to size limitations, multiple microphones and the processing of speech in noise that comes with that also aren’t possible—though Mini IX does have a workaround for that limitation. Finally, although the Horizon Go IX has the highest possible Ingress Protection rating (IP68) for resistance to moisture or dirt, we found no IP rating for the Mini IX.

Still, despite its diminutive size, it packs in a lot of exceptional technology. Here are some of the highlights of the Mini IX:

Binaural OneMic Directionality 2.0

In a binaural fit (hearing aids in both ears), Mini IX utilizes a wireless communication system called “nearfield magnetic induction” (NFMI) to allow the hearing aids to “talk” to one another and share information. So, while there’s no wireless Bluetooth connectivity, the NFMI lets Mini IX share information across the two hearing aids and optimize the microphone response. It also helps align other settings, such as noise reduction, volume, etc.

This means in a noisy listening situation, the brain of the hearing aid can steer the microphone response, allowing you to focus more on speech in front of you instead of noise coming from the side or rear. Because Mini IX relies on only one microphone in each hearing aid, the response cannot be as sharply tuned as seen with larger hearing aids that incorporate two microphones each (for a total of four in many systems). Still, because the hearing aids fit within your ear canal, they can take advantage of your ear’s natural response, which also helps to boost speech and minimize noise from behind you.

Dynamic Soundscape Processing 3.0

The IX technology platform has a “multi-stream architecture,” meaning that sounds hitting the microphones can be analyzed and separated, allowing for noise and speech to be processed separately. The larger Horizon Go IX RIC hearing aid will also allow for conversational dynamics: movement of the wearer’s head and movement of sound around the wearer to adjust the hearing aid’s processing accordingly.

While the small size of the Mini IX doesn’t allow space for motion sensors and multiple microphones, it can still take advantage of some of this processing. That is, it can still process noise and speech separately to some extent, creating a contrast between the two while boosting speech. As mentioned above, it can also utilize the microphones on both ears to create some directional microphone benefits, making following speech in noise a bit easier. The Mini IX also utilizes noise reduction technology and can process 192,000 data points every second to help examine the incoming sound, adjust the amplification accordingly and produce excellent sound quality for the wearer.

However, again, due to size limitations, the full features of the IX platform simply aren’t available with Mini IX. HearAdvisor's independent testing of the Signia Silk Charge&Go, on which the Horizon Mini IX is based, gave it an overall SoundGrade rating of “B.” When tuned (programmed and adjusted to a hearing loss using best practices), it performed above average on speech in quiet and above average on speech in noise. But, due to its lack of streaming capabilities and average scores on other measures, it was given the overall score of “B”.  Other IX products, like Styletto IX and Horizon Go IX, have received “A” SoundScores because they can take full advantage of the IX technology platform. Simply put, there is a price to pay for the nearly invisible look of the Mini IX.

For reference, here is the HearingTracker scorecard for the Signia Silk IX hearing aid, technology on which the Horizon Go IX is based:

Rechargeability

WS Audiology produces the only prescription rechargeable CIC hearing aids on the market. Other manufacturers, such as Starkey and ReSound, offer custom rechargeable hearing aids with excellent technology, but not in the small CIC style. Rechargeable over-the-counter (OTC) CIC hearing aids are available (e.g., Eargo), but they were not offered as prescription hearing aids until very recently and are not widely available as such.

Having a very cosmetically appealing hearing aid that is also rechargeable is advantageous not only for cosmetic reasons but also for convenience. CIC hearing aids typically require small size 10A batteries, which for those with dexterity and/or vision problems, makes changing them out every 4-6 days a bit of a hassle. However, the Mini IX has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that allows for up to 28 hours of wearing time on a single full charge. If you are pressed for time, a short 30-minute charge will give you up to 6 hours of use.

The charger is included with the purchase of the hearing aids, is portable, and also acts as a power bank. That is, when the portable charging case is fully charged, you can charge the Mini IX hearing aids up to 4 times without reconnecting the charger to power.

Horizon App

Horizon Mini IX fits well into most wearer’s ear canal, making it nearly invisible and very cosmetically appealing. However, as noted above, that small size comes with limitations. Not only cannot all of the technology features fit into the small hearing aid, but useful features like a push button also aren’t possible. This means you can’t simply push a button on the hearing aid and change listening programs or the volume. However, because the Mini IX has NFMI, you can still make changes via the Horizon App or via the miniPocket remote control, an accessory that is available at an additional cost.

The Horizon app won’t carry all of the functionality of other IX platform hearing aids like the Horizon Go IX. It has no fine-tuning of the directional microphones or other high-level control, such as fitness tracking features or remote programming from your hearing care provider. However, the Horizon app does still allow for change of volume, program and some balance of sound with bass and treble controls. It can also let you know your current battery status and whether it’s time to charge the hearing aids again.

The free Horizon app is available for both Apple^® and Android™ products. Overall, the app has a rating of 4.4 on the Apple App Store^® and a rating of only 3.5 on Google Play™. With many hearing aid apps, the complaints usually center on connectivity issues, but remember this won’t be an issue with the Mini IX because it does not utilize Bluetooth audio streaming. The Horizon app should work very well for Horizon Mini IX as a simple remote.

Listening programs and tinnitus therapy options

Horizon Mini IX allows for up to 6 different listening programs that can be adjusted for the common listening environments you frequent. If you have bothersome tinnitus, your hearing care provider may also choose to add tinnitus signals for you. That is, noise used to distract or mask your tinnitus can be introduced which may help alleviate your tinnitus symptoms. For example, a “soothing relax mode” can be programmed into the hearing aids, which produces sounds like ocean waves. Other tinnitus sounds, like broad-band static sounds, may also be available. Be sure to discuss all of your options with your hearing care provider if tinnitus is bothersome to you.

CROS/BiCROS for single-sided hearing loss

Horizon Mini IX is CROS/BiCROS compatible due to its built-in NFMI wireless technology. If you have single-sided-deafness this may be an excellent option for you. It allows for the Mini IX to be worn on the ear with unaidable hearing and transmit sound to a hearing aid on the opposite, better-hearing ear. This can provide sound awareness on the ear without useable hearing and improve the overall feeling of “balance.”

At-a-Glance Summary of Horizon Mini IX features

What do consumers say about Hear.com?

At this writing, Hear.com has an overall rating of A+ from the Better Business Bureau, with customer reviews giving it a rating of 4.51 out of 5 stars. Consumer Affairs also gives it an overall rating of 4.5/5. The overall consumer ratings are favorable, and most people who buy hearing aids through Hear.com are happy. Similarly, Trustpilot gives hear.com 4.3 stars out of 5, with 91% of the 1,415 respondents giving it 4 or 5 stars and 7% giving it only 1 or 2 stars. As with any company, there will be complaints, and for Hear.com, those complaints seem to center around overzealous marketing and a lack of support after purchase.

Consumer Reports gives Hear.com an overall satisfaction score of 63, placing it #13 in the 17 aid retailers and locations rated. Hear.com received good or excellent ratings for the programmer (provider), courtesy and training, evaluation, staff response to questions, and follow-up service. It received middling or poorer scores for its product selection options, discussion of the patient's specific needs, price plans, and price transparency.

Because they are fairly new, we could find very few user reviews specific to the Mini IX. However there are many comments about Hear.com, and the company is one of the rare hearing aid retailers that regularly monitor and respond to consumers' comments on the HearingTracker Hearing Aid Forum, and their network has many excellent providers. Here's what an experienced hearing aid user and frequent Forum contributor, Volusiano, had to say about Hear.com in April 2023:

“I did use them and they hooked me up with my local HCP [hearing care professional] who participates with them. They’re basically a middle man who hook you up with a local [audiologist] who will sell you hearing aids for a pre-determined price (as priced out by Hear.com), and the local HCP will also provide you with the local service for the hearing aids, then Hear.com takes a cut from that transaction. Technically your transaction is with Hear.com and not with the local [HCP], however. The 45-day money back trial is not that much different than what the industry offers (between 30-45 days usually), except for the 180 days from Costco.

“I ended up doing a direct purchase from that local HCP that I came to know through Hear.com because Hear.com could not meet the discount that a local in-network HCP for my health insurance can give me, but the local HCP associated with Hear.com was able to match that price outside of the Hear.com connection.”

So, if there are independent hearing aid practices that may be helping you get the best deal during the product selection process, this may contradict Consumer Reports' critique in that respect.

For more real-user comments on Horizon and Hear.com hearing aids, please click on these links to our hearing aid user Forum.

How much does the Horizon Mini IX cost?

Hear.com hearing aids will cost in the range of $1,600 to $6,500 a pair, and pricing may vary by region. You may find that pricing for the Hear.com Mini IX is higher compared to the Signia product on which it is based and to other comparable types of prescription hearing aids.

However, it should be noted that Signia and Hear.com are the only hearing aid manufacturers that offer prescription, rechargeable CIC hearing aids. CICs are also sometimes viewed by hearing care providers as being more problematic (i.e., more counseling, repairs, etc.) than some other styles of hearing aids. Because of this, you are likely to pay a premium for them. For this article, we weren’t able to get pricing for the Mini IX specifically, but we expect a cost in the range of $3,000-$6,000 for a pair.

Hear.com does offer several ways to pay for hearing aids and can also help you with your insurance benefits. Many Medicare Advantage Plans come with hearing aid benefits and Hear.com can assist you in navigating those benefits and claims. Remember though that your benefit is unlikely to cover the full cost of the hearing aids. Hear.com does offer several financing options including financing from Synchrony Bank, Allegro Credit and CareCredit for qualified purchasers. Should you choose financing, you can set up a monthly payment plan and, according to Hear.com, those prices can vary by technology level. Below is a snapshot of that financing per month for 36 months.

As you can calculate, utilizing financing does increase the overall price of the hearing aids. For example, if you choose “Premium,” you will be paying a total of $7,164 at the end of 36 months for hearing aids that, if paid for upfront, should cost in the range of $6,000. This is to be expected, of course, as any financing comes at a cost to the consumer. Again, you may find comparable products available at a much lower price, even from audiologists in private practice, without going through Hear.com. But, if you like the idea of having someone help you navigate how and where to buy hearing aids, Hear.com is a good option.

Final verdict

Hear.com is an online hearing healthcare company that helps the consumer navigate the hearing healthcare landscape. This includes providing information about hearing loss and hearing aids, insurance support, and a referral to a local hearing care provider (or teleaudiology care).

The company offers its own private-labeled hearing aids, manufactured by Signia. The current IX hearing aids incorporate highly sophisticated hearing technology, with the Horizon Go IX offering near-invisible styling and rechargeability. Though cosmetically appealing and convenient, the small size does come with some tradeoffs common to most CIC-style devices, including no audio streaming, no onboard controls, and more limited sound processing.

Potential alternatives to the Horizon Mini IX

You may wish to consider Signia Silk Charge&Go IX prescription hearing aids from a local hearing provider which, as we've noted above, is very similar to the Horizon Mini IX. If you have mild-to-moderate hearing loss and are open to an over-the-counter, do-it-yourself experience, you may wish to consider the Sony CRE-C20 hearing aid at $1,000, which again looks like and has features very much like the Mini X. For $800, the Sony CRE-C10 is essentially a less-expensive non-rechargeable version of the CRE-C20.

There are a number of other good prescription-fit CIC and invisible-in-canal (IIC) hearing aids, and you can access a review of them on HearingTracker's Best Invisible Hearing Aids review page. For a complete overview of all styles and lifestyle hearing aids, please see our Best Hearing Aids review page.