May 03, 2021

Seema uses BeHear PROXY neck speaker to reduce listening fatigue at work, when receiving travel requirements from clients on the go, and at home, to enjoy TV without disturbing the other family members.

With BeHear PROXY I can hear all the details…

My name is Seema, and I’m a travel consultant. I mostly deal with business travel clients. My clients typically call me in the middle of the day, often from very noisy spaces.

The success of my work totally depends on my not missing any details while receiving travel requirements. Sometimes, even the tone which is used when relaying details will determine the type of services I choose to offer.

I have a small hearing loss in one ear. I do not wear hearing aids, I’m not quite there yet, but I thought it would be really interesting to try the PROXY. I have completely fallen in love with this product. It’s a dream come true.

The BeHear PROXY neck speaker is comfortable and convenient

It’s very light and comfortable on my shoulders, around my neck. Its features are very accessible – the volume, turning it off and on, moving from earphones, which are very comfortable and stay in my ear, they do not fall out. And they are put away very easily.

BeHear PROXY enables me to work hands free, which is incredibly important. I can get up, I can move around, I can write, I can copy, I can research, while I’m listening. The clarity and the sharpness of the sound is incredible. I don’t miss a single word of any conversation.

When I’m in the office, I use earphones, for privacy. And when I’m alone, at home, I work without them. Since having PROXY I have not gone one single day without using it.

“I never imagined I would love BeHear PROXY more than my Dyson!”

I have to say that I also noticed that I feel so much less tired at the end of the day since I apparently am exerting so much less energy focusing and concentrating on hearing. The BeHear PROXY neck speaker reduces listening fatigue.

Watching TV has also become a pleasure. I can hear at my own volume. I do not bother anybody, no one else disturbs me. And no one hears me saying “shush” anymore. Thank you so much BeHear PROXY for this incredible experience!

April 25, 2021

In this blog post we’re sharing comments from Beth, a singer and music teacher who explains how PROXY helps her hear better with hearing aids. She started using the BeHear PROXY neck speaker a few weeks ago and was amazed by the sound quality, comfort, ease-of-use, and flexibility of the multi-functional hearing amplifier. She uses BeHear PROXY to listen to music and podcasts while exercising, speak hands-free in mobile calls, and tutor students over Zoom.

I decided to get hearing aids when I realized I was becoming a burden

My name is Beth, and I’m a cantor, which means that I chant religious services, and I also prepare young people to chant and sing religious text. And this means that I really need my ears.

About 4-4.5 years ago, I noticed a drop in the hearing in my right ear. I noticed this because if I held my phone to my right ear I couldn’t hear so well, but if I moved it to my left ear, I suddenly heard very clearly.

So I went to an audiologist and I was diagnosed with a hearing loss. They told me I wasn’t quite a candidate for hearing aids yet, so I waited a while, and I wondered about it, and asked myself “do I want hearing aids?”

Eventually, there really wasn’t a choice; when you’re going “what, what, what?” every other sentence, you realize you’re becoming a burden to the people around you.

So then I took on the process of researching hearing aids, because there are so many kinds, and which one do I buy, and it’s a big investment. And I finally settled on a brand, and I’ve been wearing hearing aids now for about three years, and I enjoy them very much, they’ve made a huge difference in my quality of life.

With PROXY I don’t always need my hearing aids in to hear better

Then I heard about the BeHear PROXY. When I first looked at the videos online I became intrigued, because it seemed like it was offering a middle ground; I didn’t always need to have my hearing aids in to hear well!

My hearing aids are comfortable, but because of my work, and because of my active lifestyle, I have to have them in from early in the morning until late at night. I can’t be in front of the TV or the computer without them, and my ears get a bit tired wearing hearing aids for 12-15 hours. They also don’t always make my sound 100% clear. My hearing is definitely better with the hearing aids, but there are still certain things that I don’t hear clearly.

When I first put on the BeHear PROXY I discovered that there’s another “space” in this hearing world, and that is one that I can use in my home very comfortably. The ear pieces are extremely comfortable, they’re soft and they fit very easily.

The BeHear PROXY is very light on my neck. That was another thing: when I opened the box, I loved the design. It’s attractive, it’s easy to wear, and the retractors for the ear pieces work so beautifully, and are so simple to use.

So, when I’m walking outside, and I do walk about 3-5 miles every day, they’re really comfortable to wear and to use, and to listen to my music, or my podcasts, and I don’t have to have my phone in my hand, and I don’t have the headphones on, which get tight and bulky, after a while, when you’re walking for an hour and a half, that’s what happens.

The amazing speakers are fabulous for Zoom calls

My favorite, my absolute favorite feature, are the amazing speakers. The sound is so clear, and so crisp, when it comes into my ears, that it’s unlike anything I’ve heard for a long, long time, even with my fabulous hearing aids. So I really really appreciate that, particularly when I’m teaching children on Zoom, or when I’m in classes on Zoom. I have a 3-hour writing class that I’m taking, and that’s a long time to be listening. The BeHear is just a fabulous thing to be using for that purpose.

I also like that I can adjust the volume easily, with the BeHear, and that I have the app that I can do that through as well. Your hearing aids have a set position, and it’s a really good position, but sometimes I feel like I’d like to be able to turn up the volume as well, and I can do that with my BeHear PROXY.

I wish I knew about PROXY before I got my hearing aid

One thing that happened for me, when I found out that I needed hearing aids, was a little bit of difficulty with this change in my self-image. And I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of having hearing aids. For me, BeHear PROXY would have been, if I had had it at the time I was considering hearing aids, a great way to ease into the transition. BeHear PROXY gives me flexibility; it gives me a really comfortable way to experience hearing amplification.

I think in retrospect, if this had been available to me when I was in my search for hearing aids, and debating, I would totally have bought this. BeHear PROXY is very reasonably priced and would have been a great way to have an experience with hearing amplification without having to invest a lot of money, and get involved, and worry about all of the implications. This is a really comfortable, easy to use instrument, that gives me what I need.

If I had known about BeHear PROXY when I was first dealing with getting hearing aids, I think it would have been a great help in navigating my issues of self-image as I came to terms with the fact that I was going to need hearing aids.

Bottom line: the sound quality of BeHear PROXY goes above and beyond any expectation

I love the sound quality of BeHear PROXY. It goes above and beyond anything I could have expected. While I have good hearing aids, this gives me good flexibility and options that I didn’t have before. I love using BeHear PROXY with my computer, I love using it with my television, I love using it when I exercise, and listening to my cell phone, to my podcasts, to my music. I love being able to answer the phone, when I’m in the house, and it’s completely hands-free. And the sound quality when I speak to people, is good as well. They hear me very clearly, and I hear other people more clearly as well. And so, it’s a great, great product. I’ve really enjoyed using it and I’m so grateful that I have it now. I can’t imagine having just my hearing aids, anymore. I will definitely be using the BeHear PROXY in the years to come.

April 20, 2021

Before buying the BeHear ACCESS, I had NHS behind-the-ear hearing aids for five years and needed them to be readjusted after three. This required waiting for an appointment with the audiologist.  Luckily that was before Covid and the lockdowns. One of the great things about the BeHear hearables is that if I feel my hearing has deteriorated, I can just use the built-in hearing assessment any time I like (lockdown or not) and save the settings in the App’s library.

My original reason for moving on from my hearing aids, was I wanted to use Bluetooth.  My hobby is Family History and our U3A group face to face meetings had had to be cancelled during lockdown, so we trialed Zoom meetings with great success.  Unfortunately, my laptop sound is not of sufficient quality or level for my hearing, and I was losing a lot of the conversation. 

I researched a number of available Bluetooth adapters such as neck loops as well as hearables products, and although there are other hearables that also have a self-assessment feature, the BeHear wearables looked to be the only ones that could offer the range of features I was looking for and the level of audio gain that my high frequency hearing loss required.

When I had my NHS (National Health Service) hearing aids readjusted previously I had also had the Telecoil feature enabled as I had found theatre acoustics and reverberation a problem. The BeHear ACCESS provided the perfect solution with the in-built Telecoil.

Having had the BeHear ACCESS for a while now, I have been very pleased with the purchase. There are a number of activities that have improved that I had not considered originally; for example, I can listen to a podcast whilst mowing the lawn or adjust the sound settings on the fly for a difficult sound situation.  The wind noise (with or without the supplied wind mufflers) is much less of a problem than with the BTE. 

With the extra boost these give to my high frequency hearing, I can appreciate bird song again.

Finally, my BTE hearing aids pick up unwanted noise from behind.  This is particularly bothersome in a restaurant.  Sitting with my back to a wall doesn’t solve the problem as the hard surface reflects the sound onto the hearing aids.  With lockdown coming to an end I am looking forward to enjoying restaurants and theatre shows.

Negatives are few and small. The NHS hearing aids are more comfortable; I did find the earbuds a little difficult to get used to and had to use the smallest size (perhaps I have small ear canals) and they can make my ears sore if I have them in all day. The Bluetooth range would be better if it was version 5.0 rather than Version 4.2, but connection can be made to two devices e.g., laptop and phone concurrently, which is really useful.

April 06, 2021

I am standing in my kitchen now, listening to “Abraham, Martin and John” through the device’s speakers (stereo enhancement turned on). It sounds AWESOME, and yet if I take it off, it is certainly not loud enough to bother my next door neighbors, like my TV used to…

The sound fidelity is crystal clear, the tonal qualities are just right, I can hear fine nuances in the music, it is comfortable to wear and it is so easy to use. I love the fact that I do not have to use the earbuds. I don’t want to stop listening.

Now I’m mellowing out to the sound of Barbra Streisand singing “What’s it All About, Alfie?” I am in music heaven!

A few weeks ago I had created a personalized hearing profile in the BeHear app when I reviewed the BeHear ACCESS. Is it possible to copy that hearing profile over to the BeHear PROXY, or will I need to get my hearing tested again?

I really love listening to my music library, while I wear the BeHear PROXY. It lets me consistently listen to pleasing, high fidelity audio, without the need to use earbuds or headphones. When walking, driving and engaging in other activities, the BeHear PROXY hearing amplifier should enable users to clearly hear, and be aware of, all that is going on around them.

Now, finally, I can enjoy my music at a volume that is loud enough for me to hear it, without bothering anyone. Life is good. You’ve really hit a home run with BeHear PROXY.

January 28, 2021

Rodney’s Story

Now, it took me a while to realize that I actually needed any help with my hearing. The family really pushed me into it. And when I eventually got the hearing aids, after much discussion about the high costs, I found them OK, but then I found that batteries are expensive, so in the long term I stopped wearing them, which really was a very silly thing to do, but that’s what happened. So this led me to look for another solution.

I was actually looking for hearing aids that are rechargeable.

But when I was looking I found this interesting company called Wear & Hear and after some searching with Frequently Asked Questions and listening to people who had actually used the device I decided to take a plunge and go ahead and buy the BeHear NOW. It was of course very very very much cheaper than the headphones I was looking at and so I bought it and I’m very pleased with the results so far. And of course, particularly in the family they’ve stopped sort of saying “why can’t you hear?”, “why’d you ask me to say that again?”

So, it’s changed quite a lot in the house, because my wife particularly is benefiting from not having the television absolutely blasting out.

The situation I find now is that when I’m particularly listening to a conversation on a mobile phone, this is dramatic improvement for me because I was finding it very difficult to hear conversations either on the actual phone itself (holding it to my ear) or in fact through the speaker. This has made a dramatic difference, it is really very very clear, and that’s a great help. The other thing I find is that, it’s rather interesting, if somebody’s on the line, and absolutely gabbling away to me, I press the speech “slow down” button and that really helps also!

Advice for Others Starting Their Journey to Improved Hearing

I would say that anybody who’s looking for hearing aids, or some solution to help their hearing, I would certainly say try one of the Wear & Hear headsets because, first of all, there is a tremendous saving from the economical point of view but also from the actual quality of hearing.

People think you’re listening to music and people don’t realize you have a hearing problem.

Thoughts About Usability: Simple as A-B-C

I love playing with gadgets, and this to me was a new gadget. It took me a very short time, I read the instructions.  There are also very helpful videos, which I watched as well. And, to set it up and do the hearing test, really very simple, absolutely A,B,C. And got it up and running very quickly.  And then after that, of course, I found out there were other little tweaks that you can do. And so, really it was not a problem at all.  Anybody who isn’t sort of “tech” — no problem at all.

Understanding People Wearing Masks is No Longer a Problem

One of the things I do find very useful is when I’m outside the house is when shopping, and particularly at the checkout counter, it’s very helpful to hear first of all, what they’re saying, and nowadays with the Perspex screen in front of the cashier and the masks on, it’s very difficult sometimes to hear what people say and now I have no problem at all with that.

Spreading the Love & Well-Being

I noticed one particular person always asking me the same questions: “how easy is it to use?”, “is it comfortable?” and I said, yeah, yeah, why? “Well, I actually have a little bit of trouble hearing.” And to cut a long story short, they went out and bought one and are forever grateful. Every time we talk she says “oh, thank you so much, thank you so much.” She says to people: “Rodney’s changed my life!”

Watch Rodney’s full video testimonial below:

October 22, 2020

General Comments About BeHear NOW

Fast delivery and good support.

The unit looks very nice and includes a sturdy case. Feels like quality is there!

Documentation is very good and I appreciate the YouTube demos.

I like the neckband form factor and the ear hook design very much. I can wear it all time even when not using earbuds and never worry about losing them or even searching for them.

Most hearing aids come with one side only, I like very much having the two earbuds. Less listening efforts, less fatigue. After all, we don’t wear eyeglasses with only one lens…

The self fitting (personalization) works very well and is quite accurate. I like the sound tuning platform for finer adjustment.

Working Performance of the BeHear NOW Headset

The sound from the Bluetooth is very nice, I can hear all the ssss and other consonants. Also, there is plenty of gain, and low delay when listening to TV. ListenThrough is a nice feature when watching TV with others.

For me, Personal Hearing mode performs best with the volume below mid-level, especially for Indoor mode; at a higher volume, the microphones are overly sensitive to room acoustics (reverberation), especially with noise that is in close proximity. Personally, I prefer using the Personal Hearing in ‘Crowd mode’. It feels less sensitive to room acoustics and and the microphones seem to be more directional.

My Conclusions

 I am a satisfied BeHear customer. I like the form factor and the features, but most important it helps a lot with speech comprehension.

August 20, 2020

I received my new hearing device about 10 days ago.  The first time I put it on I exclaimed to my carer “amazing! I didn’t know how much my hearing has deteriorated.”

Shayna Orbaum, satisfied BeHear ACCESS customer

Before I was able to use the device I had to do the set-up, which included performing my own assessment of how each ear received the different sounds and tones.  And also pairing it with the Bluetooth on my smartphone.
The accompanying instructions are very clear with pictures and big writing.  Very easy to follow. 

I am able to enjoy TV so much more. 

I found myself tuning in more and more to Netflix because there I could read the subtitles. I still love Netflix, but now am able to pick out movies from the VOD library and hear every word loud and clear. 

I used to have the volume up to about 45, when now I don’t need to raise the volume to more than 28, which is comfortable for my carer.

Phone calls: what a pleasure to be able to hear so well.  I don’t even have to hold the phone to my ear.  The phone sits on the table or desk and I just speak normally as though I am speaking to someone nearby. I still have to try out the slow speaking mode.

I have tried medical hearing aids about 3 years ago.  I just could not adjust, always hearing an echo or other noises.  I went back to the audiologist about 6 or 7 times and it was determined that my ear canals are small and hearing aids are not suitable for me. I was refunded the 8,000 shekels without any problems. 

I thank Hillel Fuld for his article in the Jerusalem Post about Wear & Hear.