Jabra Enhance Plus OTC Hearing Aid to Be Discontinued

The Jabra Enhance™ Plus over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid will be discontinued effective October 1, 2024, according to an announcement from ReSound, a sister company of Jabra in the GN Group. The device will no longer be available in certified hearing care centers or retail channels; however, the company will continue to honor its one-year warranty period, and service and support will be provided for two years starting October 1, 2024.

The Denmark-based audio and video equipment manufacturer Jabra launched Jabra Enhance Plus in February 2022, and the product was among the first OTC hearing aids available after the FDA established rules for the new class of hearing aids in August 2022. Offered for $799 per pair, Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds look like modern wireless consumer devices but deliver speech amplification, directional microphones, noise reduction, and feedback suppression—functionality more often associated with traditional hearing aids. They also stream audio and provide hands-free calling via Bluetooth (iOS only).

Jabra Enhance continues to manufacture and market its popular Jabra Enhance Select OTC hearing aids—the Select 500, 300, and 50R—which are sold online, and its Jabra Enhance Pro prescription hearing aids which are sold at Costco.

Tough times for earbud manufacturers in general

With its dominant players, continued innovations and price pressure, the post-pandemic consumer earbud market has been as tough as it is vast.

“Jabra announced its departure from the consumer earbuds market back in June, citing the increasing risks of competition,” noted HearingTracker Audiologist and Founder Abram Bailey, AuD. “As someone who watches the consumer side of the market, my impression is that the Enhance Plus was not as hugely popular as GN anticipated, and in general, the ‘premium’ OTC hearing aid market has been off to a very slow start.

“I wouldn't be surprised if this has been planned for some time,” continued Bailey. “It’s also possible the decision relates to the consumer earbud wind down. Since Enhance Plus is an earbud form factor, I would guess they come from the same division on the hardware side. Maybe they just sold all the manufactured units. But, another possibility is that Apple's announcement of its hearing aid mode was just the straw that broke the camel's back.”

In early August, Australia-based Nuheara entered voluntary administration after failing to renegotiate a $2.5 million convertible note and firm up other agreements with its semiconductor supplier. Nuheara manufactures the HP Hearing Pro and Nuheara IQ Buds2 Max hearing devices, which are very similar in appearance and function. It’s uncertain what the fate of these products will be. Currently, HP is marketing on its website the HP Hearing PRO for $499, and Nuheara is offering its IQbuds2 Max for $249.50.

Jabra's sister company ReSound relocates to larger headquarters

Meanwhile, it's business as usual for GN's flagship prescription brand ReSound. It's flagship hearing aid family, Nexia, was recently tested by the HearAdvisor lab, which rated it highly on most metrics. Readers can hear real recordings of the Nexia below.

ReSound also announced this week its move to a larger facility a few miles south of its current location in Minneapolis starting in 2025. ReSound will be taking over the former Shutterfly Midwest production facility and is currently finalizing plans for renovation and construction to turn the site into a 218,437-square-foot, state-of-the-art hearing aid manufacturing, repair, and shipping facility.