These patients are not ready to commit to a full-time-use hearing aid, but they know they could benefit from amplification in very specific situations.

The Jabra Enhance Plus “Lifestyle Devices” Are Here – Here’s What Our Patients Think

by | Mar 15, 2022 | Hearing Aids, Patient Resources

Ever since Jabra announced their move into the hearing market last year, our Audicles team has been looking forward to the release of their Jabra Enhance Plus, the second low-cost hearing device offered by a leading manufacturer, following Bose’s SoundControl.

Jabra is marketing these hearing aids as “miniaturized 3-in-1 earbuds for hearing enhancement, music and calls,” they are also FDA-approved self-fitting hearing aids and will be available to purchase off the shelf later this summer once the regulations change for over-the-counter hearing aids.

With our patients always interested in more affordable hearing devices, we’ve put together a summary of our thoughts on these earbuds by Jabra below.

Who Is The Jabra Enhance Plus Earbud A Good Fit For?

The Jabra Enhance Plus is designed for a very specific group of people who have already had a full diagnostic hearing evaluation that revealed a mild to moderate degree of hearing loss and indicated no contraindications for hearing aid use.

These patients are not ready to commit to a full-time-use hearing aid, but they know they could benefit from amplification in very specific situations, such as in meetings, at restaurants, or in certain social situations.

The Jabra Enhance Plus will likely be most useful in noisy environments.

Now that people are becoming more social and going into public places more, the presence of background noise can be very discouraging to communication.

They will most likely want to get a little help with their hearing care, and they will be more likely to use these devices to enable conversation but won’t need them in most other environments.

Jabra Hearing device
  • Many of our patients appreciate being able to stream all their audio straight to their ears, and they find it easier to take phone calls and exercise with them.
  • It is likely that the people who choose the Jabra Enhance Plus over a prescription hearing aid are those who are very cautious about spending money on hearing aids, particularly if someone they know has had a negative experience with hearing aids.
  • The Enhance Plus design makes it look like the wearer is simply wearing a trendy earbud rather than a hearing aid.

What Do We Mean By “Self-Fitting?”

Self-fitting devices are those that provide some type of “hearing test” for the user so that they automatically program to the result of your hearing test taken through the Jabra app.

They have limited controls, such as a volume control or differing degrees of directionality or noise reduction, but also limit the output of the devices so that the person is not able to damage their own hearing by using them.

Programming – The Jabra Enhance Plus uses NAL-NL2 prescriptive target which makes it more advanced than other products like it on the market. However, it is not going to provide the same benefit as a prescriptive hearing aid because it cannot be fine-tuned to each individual’s needs.

Sound quality – Although the Enhance Plus does have automatic noise filters, the devices do not employ the more sophisticated, automatic noise reduction that is available in hearing aids and may sound very tinny to the user.

Echoes – Some people notice dramatic occlusion, causing an echo in their own voice, which is also perceived as loud.

Hearing test – Jabra offers their own online hearing test but recommends getting a professional hearing evaluation before you buy.

Book a hearing evaluation with us so you can know going in what your ears need and what might be causing your hearing loss.

Phone app – The Jabra app is only available on Apple devices so far, but the setup is easy.

Ear fit – The earbuds come with three sizes of ear canal tip, but patients say they can fall out sometimes. This could be improved with intervention from a hearing care professional to ensure the devices are properly inserted.

Feedback On The Jabra Enhance Plus So Far

While a couple of patients have said that they like the devices in the few situations where they need to socialize, the overwhelming reports have been that clients want a more customized experience.

  • The ear gels don’t fit every ear, which causes the devices to fall out or move around in their ear constantly.
  • For one person, the sound in their environment was just as loud as the speech they wanted to hear, which completely negated the benefit they had hoped for.

These are both examples of problems that can be overcome with prescriptive hearing aids.

The users reported that they were still not ready to commit to the price of these devices for the quality of sound that was delivered.

jabra device

Still Nervous About Hearing Treatment?

For those who are not quite ready to commit to prescription hearing aids, I would recommend that they try one of these self-fitting devices to see if they get some benefit.

I would also advise that these devices only provide a fraction of the benefit that prescriptive hearing aids would provide – the latter employing a great deal more engineering as well as professional fitting.

However, we are excited about products like the Jabra Enhance Plus because we know there are people who will absolutely benefit from these devices – those who just aren’t ready for hearing aids.

They are fully aware that they have some degree of hearing loss, and it does affect them from time to time, and they would like something to try out.

These products allow them to experience the benefit of amplification without the cost or commitment of purchasing hearing aids, which, most likely, would end up in a drawer rather than in their ears.

Please feel free to call or email us with any questions at all about these and other hearing devices. We’re always happy to help.

And book a hearing assessment to both find out if you have a hearing loss and to establish a baseline for any future visits.

We look forward to helping you communicate more easily.

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Dr. Tracy Board Doctor of Audiology

Dr. Board began her career in audiology after completing her undergraduate degree at The University of Texas at Austin and the doctoral program at The University of Texas at Dallas. She has been fortunate to work in a plethora of healthcare and educational settings. As a result, she has perfected the art of effective adult and pediatric treatment. When she is not at the clinic, Dr. Board works directly with her state and national organizations to not only improve the quality of audiological healthcare in Texas, but also to advocate for her patients.