Jabra Improve Select 500 OTC Headphones, Audio Equipment Care Included, Bluetooth LE Audio and Bluetooth Streaming for Calls, Music, Media (iOS/Android) - Nearly Invisible and Comfortable - Color

I had a Stark pair of in the ear hearing aids that I had used for eight years. I had paid $5000 from them from a local audiologist. I’ve had these about 90 days and the hearing quality is better than other hearing aid I had. I have better hearing. I have more control over them because of the app I have on my phone to control the volume and environment. By environment, I mean, if I’m in a restaurant, I change it to restaurant mode and it cancels out the background noise and helps me focus on the sound in front of me. I can turn them up or down very simply from the app on my phone. The bad thing about them is that the Bluetooth part of them interferes with my bluetooth headset in the office and in the car. I’ve developed a workaround for this. Talking with clients through the hearing aids is not really good. But I found a solution to that. Just turn off the Bluetooth functioning of them while you’re in the car or in the office when I need to use other Bluetooth technology with which I have problems. This is how you do it. You turned it off from the phone instead of trying to work with it on the app. I have an iPhone 15. Open up settings and open up “Accessibility”. Then find “Hearing Devices”. Open up the hearing aids, which will come up at the very top of the page in blue. There are three buttons. “Stream to the right hearing device”. “Stream to the left hearing device“. “Adjust independently”. Turn these three buttons off. When I get in my car, I turn them off and they don’t interfere with my BMW’s Bluetooth. I do the same thing when I’m in the office. The rest of the time I have those three different buttons on because I like to listen to music or YouTube through my hearing aids. In summary, I really like the hearing aids. I enjoy the control I have over them with the app and then when I’m in a restaurant or walking outside. But I don’t want to talk to clients through the Bluetooth on the phone through the hearing aids or have them interfere with my cars Bluetooth. If I could not have turned that off, I would’ve returned them. My audiologist offered me a pair of hearing aids for $8,000. These costs $1,850 and work better than my last $5,000 hearing aids. But I had to find a workaround to the Bluetooth problem. It sounds like a win-win to me.

IF I COULD GIVE A ZERO STAR I WOULD HAVE Before purchasing these, I did a fair amount of research online, and took the hearing test at the Jabra website. My issue with hearing is only in noisy background situations, like a restaurant. Thought I would give these a try. On the Jabra site they advertise that you have 100 days to evaluate and get consultations with audiologists, basically as needed. My first consultation resulted in a "tweak" to the hearing aid program, which did not do the job. On my second consultation I was ready to return the hearing aids for a refund. The audiologist suggested that I try some more, made an additional "tweak" to the software and told me that our next session, would still be within the 100 day allowance to return if I did not feel that the hearing aids were working to my satisfaction. About 2 weeks later, and still 2 weeks before the next scheduled consultation, I decided that I would return the hearing aids. I first tried to contact through the app on my phone. After two queries I got an email response that indicated I had to go through Amazon to return. I went to Amazon and was told that I was beyond the return window! I emailed Jabra support again and was told that if you purchase the hearing aids through a third party - like Amazon or other electronic vendors, you DON'T GET THE 100 DAY ALLOWANCE. I looked at my calendar and my second audiologist appt was within the allowance to return on Amazon, and I had told the audiologist that I was ready to return. Her suggestion was to wait and try longer as the following appointment would be within the 100 days. Now, I understand that she may not have known that I did not purchase through Jabra directly - though I did purchase through the JABRA store on Amazon - to me, that meant i purchased from Jabra as there was no indication that it was a third party. While I have had a number of Jabra products in the past, I would NEVER purchase from Jabra again. I think that their business practices are deceptive and misleading. To have a company professional employee tell me one thing, and then the company not abide by it is, to my thinking a bad business practice.

After much comparison of different hearing aids, I chose Jabra. I was determined to not pay $6,000 again for hearing aids. They had a sale and they were reduced to $1,600. They work better than my prior high priced pair. No need to see an audiologist. Jabra can test you for the correct settings over the phone. I will purchase these again.

The sound quality was great but I could not ever get it to work with my phone to receive phone calls and notifications through the hearing aids. And the customer service was almost zilch. I waited 5 weeks and finally called him and said I wanted to return them

Several reviewers have commented on the 100 day return policy. That policy is only in effect if you purchase directly from Jabra. If you buy these hearing aids from Amazon, it is a 30 day return period. Overall, the hearing aids seem to be working well. However, there is definitely an adjustment period regarding fit and the new, louder world. I did not get an online appointment with a Jabra consultant for two weeks and now have some new wires coming to replace the originals. Once those are in place, I will only have a few days left to evaluate the product based on the Amazon return policy. This is not like buying light bulbs or batteries. It takes some time to get comfortable with this product and determine if it is the right one for you. That is why the 100 days would be good. But Amazon is being Amazon.