Elehear Beyond Pro OTC Hearing Aid Review

About Elehear Beyond Pro OTC Hearing Aids

Specifications

• Self-fitting or preset: Preset
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
• Battery life: Up to 20 hours per charge (case adds 80 more hours)
• Battery or rechargeable: Rechargeable
• FDA status: FDA-cleared status for OTC hearing aids
• HFA-FOG50 (Gain): 35±5bB
• Al noise reduction: Max 24dB
• Frequency range: 125Hz-8500Hz
• Connection: Bluetooth 5.3 (music streaming & phone calls)
• Hearing aids weight: 4.8g
• Soft speech enhancement: Yes
• Microphone: 2 microphones per hearing aid
• Hearing aids dimension: 1.29 x 0.65 x 0.36 inches

Charging Case

• Single charge: Up to 20 hours runtime
• Battery capacity: 95mAh (hearing aids), 1000mAh (charging box)
• Charging box usage time: 4 extra charges
• Charging case weight: 120g
• Charging case dimension: 4.09 x 2.34 x 1.33 inches

It may be long overdue, but you can now buy hearing aids without requiring a prescription from an audiologist or other medical professional. It’s the OTC in over-the-counter hearing aids. Purchasing directly from online retailers is not only less expensive—democratizing good hearing, if you will—but you avoid long wait times to book testing appointments, which was a tedious process for many. In other words, OTC is all about accessibility and affordability, while also offering a wider selection for those with mild to moderate hearing loss.

How we tested

If you’re testing hearing aids, it’s important to know how they are supposed to work in the first place. Just as we did with the Elehear Beyond OTC Hearing Aids, we tested the Pro version for more than a week, primarily on an iPhone (specifically, iPhone 17 Pro Max), and also with an Android-based Samsung Galaxy S25 device (for two days).

We assessed the entire experience, from the moment the product was unboxed and set up in the Elehear app to tweaking settings and enabling features, and then analyzing performance in several indoor and outdoor settings.

We evaluated performance based on conversing with others in person and over the phone (via Bluetooth), general audio quality in noisy environments (such as a nearby Italian restaurant), listening to TV programming, and streaming music and podcasts from the same device on which the app is installed.

We also felt it was important to compare the Pro’s performance to its predecessor, which is $200 cheaper, to determine if the upgrade is worth it.

We also assessed comfort, design, and battery life.

What we like

The setup is smooth

Like all Bluetooth earbuds, you’ll first charge up Elehear’s charging case via the included USB-C cable with the hearing aids placed inside. Wireless Qi charging is not supported, but these new hearing aids introduce “fast-charging” for the first time, providing up to six hours of battery life with just 15 minutes of charging.

The next step is to download the free Elehear app for iPhone or Android, and pair the hearing aids to your phone. Before you start pairing, you’ll need to remove a small piece of tape from behind each earbud; otherwise, the phone won’t be able to detect them. The instructions in the app should clearly indicate this. I encountered the same issue as the original Elehear Beyond OTC Hearing Aids.

Once connected, the app lets you tweak volume per ear, tune for phone call enhancements, adjust environmental settings (to optimize noise reduction), and, if desired, take a hearing test, select music-related adjustments (like bass and treble), and more.

You can even play (and fuse together) white noise and soundscape options for those affected by tinnitus. Our favorite combination was heavy rain with a thunderstorm. There are 22 options you can mix and match. Clever.

They function as they are supposed to

As advertised, the Elehear Beyond Pro OTC hearing aids effectively amplify sounds around you, including people’s speech, natural noises, and television content, with minimal adjustments required via the app in various environments (under the “Noise Control” menu).

Phone calls, music, and podcasts streamed well to the hearing aids. AI effectively reduced distracting background noise. Phone calls were super crisp and clear. A friend (on the other end of the line) commented on me sounding loud and clear, too.

That said, Elehear claims the VocClear 2.0 technology in the Pros should deliver as much as 30% clearer speech, but I didn’t notice a significant boost in clarity over the original Elehear Beyond. The AI-enhanced audio performs well in various environments, spanning low, medium, and high frequencies. Was it about a third better than the older pair? No, but the audio was indeed clear, and music was better sounding, too. There was a slight increase in sensitivity and a subtle static compared to the original Elehear Beyond OTC pair (I’ll elaborate further on this below).

They can translate languages

Apple may be making headlines with its Live Translation feature in the new AirPods Pro 3, our best wireless earbuds for iPhone users, but Elehear has been offering this feature for a while.

Like the original Elehear Beyond, the new Pro version can translate up to 11 languages as you converse. In the app, select your mother tongue and the language of the person you’re chatting with, and these hearing aids will translate complete sentences in real time. It works fairly well, but just know that the voice you hear in your earbuds is quite robotic compared to Apple and Google’s far more human-sounding voices, and it is also not as fast as Apple’s Live Translation.

Battery life is impressive

Yes, the Beyond Pro’s charging case is about three times larger than an AirPods Pro case, but the size differential allows for significantly more battery life—that, and the hearing aids themselves (the “shells” that sit behind your ears) are also quite big.

In fact, Elehear’s promise of up to 20 hours between charges, or just shy of it, was bang on, while the carrying case provides five full charging cycles (100 hours total).

New to this version is fast-charging, which is nice to have. Just 15 minutes of charging can yield up to 6 hours of battery life.

However, when the case and hearing aids together offer about 100 hours of life in total, I’d argue that you don’t really need this fast-charging feature. It’s a nice-to-have but not a need-to-have.

What we don’t like

Like the original Beyond pair, these are still too big

Something I was surprised to see, especially since I wasn’t the only reviewer to express this concern last year, is that the new Elehear Beyond Pros are the same size as the older Elehear Beyonds.

That is, the hearing aid shells that sit behind your ears are large—bigger than most competing models. They’re relatively light, at least.

The material and color (available in silver or champagne) are attractive, but man, they’re big. Big enough to potentially be self-conscious wearing these, and those with mild hearing loss may choose not to.

The in-ear domes are smaller, and various tip sizes are included with purchase.

They can’t get wet

While I didn’t encounter any issues myself, these hearing aids are only IPX5-rated; therefore, there is little resistance to water splashes, heavy sweat, and dust. And so, users must try to keep these from getting wet, which could be tough if caught in the rain or on a long, sweaty run.

AirPods Pro 3, by comparison, have an IP57 rating, meaning they’re resistant to dust, sweat, and water (up to a maximum depth of more than 3 feet for 30 minutes).

A slight static hum hangs around at all times

While it seemed to improve with a firmware update, a slight amount of static can still be heard while wearing the hearing aids at all times. Why? The audio is boosted and so they’re more sensitive, for sure. But in our experience, there seemed to be a constant, subtle noise in the background for no reason.

Elehear Beyond vs. Elehear Beyond Pro: What’s the difference?

We think it’s handy to directly compare the difference between the Elehear Beyond OTC Hearing Aids and the newer and pricier Elehear Beyond Pro OTC Hearing Aids.

	Elehear Beyond	Elehear Beyond Pro
Price	$399	$599
VocClear Technology	VocClear, 17% improvement in speech clarity	VocClear 2.0, 30% improvement in speech clarity
Modes	7000Hz Music Mode frequency range	8500Hz Music Mode frequency range
App	Original interface, 4 preset modes	Redesigned interface, 4 preset modes that can be tweaked, customization options

Warranty

Elehear Beyond hearing aids feature a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

Should you buy the Elehear Beyond Pro

Yes, even despite their large size

While it’s unfortunate the Elehear Beyond Pro (available at Elehear) hearing aid shells are still big—too big—these OTC hearing aids really are a great buy at less than $600, especially considering their top-notch audio quality, customization options, comfort, and app interface. Additionally, music lovers will appreciate that these hearing aids capture a wider range of the complete sound spectrum, resulting in a more well-balanced and immersive audio experience. Call quality is great, and the tinnitus feature is incredibly smart, allowing you to choose from various nature sounds and white noise options.

The Pro pair is a great value for your money, but if even $600 is too tight a budget for you, the original Elehear Beyond OTC Hearing Aids are almost as good and cost $200 less.