$85 hearing aids
Bossa
I opened the box in my office, which is a relatively quiet environment and I am not wearing any aids. I put these things in my ears right out of the box, and I hear a banging (that wasn’t there before). I go downstairs to see if the banging is the washer or dryer, but no – it is coming from the outside. I open the door and lo and behold, there is a banging coming from a maintenance shed more than 100 yards away from me. I had not heard that before! (The real question is is that good or bad that I heard this nuisance noise-maybe selectively not hearing that annoyance is good). But the point is that they worked!
This is the world we are walking into with OTC Self fitting aids.
These Hearing Aids – Bossa – do nothing other than amplify the sound and are very non-apologetic. They do say “The X5 Tinnitus Management Microchip includes a built-in tinnitus management software and a background noise
elimination feature “. They call themselves Hearing Aids verses Personal Hearing Devices, meaning they must have
FDA approval. I would bet not.. They are completely non-adjustable, have no phone app, no bluetooth, do not even suggest a hearing test. They have an itty-bitty screw driver that adjust the volume!
Some others in this category are Neosonic, Nuheara, MD Air OTC,Smart Hearing, Nano Hearing, Outdoor Tech, Timekettle, Stream Ric, EAZE Rechareable, Control RIC.
All of these are pre-OTC world of 2022. These are very easy, some have programs, most are all under $500.
Since these devices typically do not conect with each other, you can wear them in either ear or just wear one. If all you care about is watching tv or events where you just need amplification $85 is a good solution. It could be a first step. I keep a pair by my bed and wear them watching tv late at night.
Interesting enough is that a couple of recommended uses are Bird Watching and Hunting. I certainly will use these for bird watching!
Annually our golf club sponsors a bird walk. We usually have a professional Birder, and one of my buddies is an incredibly knowledgeable Birder and wild game expert – he went n
Safaris as a kid with his family -40 years ago and more recently supports a Village in Tanzania.
On these walks experts were talking about hearing all the bird calls – I just assumed I didn’t hear what they did. Now I know I can take these hearing aids and have a new world of bird calls 
If you are one of the typical Americans who wait 10 years after noticing a hearing loss, you might try these out. For $85 you can’t go wrong! You might hear some birds you didn’t hear before. (Happy thought)
