These Jabra hearing aids come with a cost, but they’re excellent (2024)

Over-the-counter hearing aids have exploded in popularity following the passage of a landmark 2022 ruling that allowed persons over the age of 18 to get their hands on assistive hearing tech without a prescription. As a leader in consumer audio products, Jabra was among the first brands to enter the space with its Enhance line of specialized earbuds.

The Jabra Enhance Select 500 (available at Jabra) hearing aids are the catalog's most premier option available for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Priced at $1,795 or $1,995 depending on the buyer's needs, there's no doubt there's still significant financial investment involved, but can these premium OTC hearing aids still prove to be a value for the money? Our Jabra Enhance Select 500 review has all the answers.

About the Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids

In their basic and premium configurations, the Jabra Enhance Select 500 package includes the following items.

• Left and right hearing aids
• Charging/carrying case
• Charging cord
• AC wall plug
• Cleaning and maintenance supplies
• Tulip, open, and closed ear domes in various sizes
• A measuring tool to find the appropriate receiver placement
• Relevant guides and user manuals

The product features a micro behind-the-ear design that's likely familiar to those who've worn hearing aids in the past, though it's easy to figure out for newcomers too. I slipped on the universally sized tulip domes as they offer an improved audio streaming experience, with less space for the sound to escape, but wearers are free to pick a style they like best.

Previous versions of Jabra hearing aids only supported Bluetooth audio streaming on iOS devices, but the Enhance Select 500s offer Bluetooth support for phone calls and media on both Android and iOS. If you happen to be going to an event that has Auracast support, these hearing aids are compatible with that technology, too. Should a phone call come through at any time while using these features, hands-free calling options allow the user to tap the hearing aid to pick up and begin talking.

All versions of the Jabra Enhance Select 500 feature 116 dB input dynamic range and are further improved by SoundScape technology that enhances voices in noisy or disruptive environments.

While package contents are identical across basic and premium configurations, the level of personalization differs. When starting with a premium set, users are prompted to take a hearing test, which the Jabra Enhance Select app uses to create a custom hearing profile. There's also an option to upload a professional audiogram if the user happens to have one available. Premium adds an extended three-year warranty as well to cover loss, damage, and any necessary support from Jabra's audiology team.

Even without a personalized profile, though, the free Jabra Enhance Select app still lets users tweak settings to find a working preset. Aspects like world volume, noise filtering, speech clarity, bass, treble, and streaming controls can all be quickly adjusted on a per-ear basis in case hearing loss differs from ear to ear.

What we like about the Jabra Enhance Select 500

They're simple to use without sacrificing customization

The Jabra Enhance Select 500 is one of the simplest OTC hearing aids I've tested and reviewed to date. Following the step-by-step instructions easily allowed me to get these hearing aids running, and the app installed flawlessly, without unnecessary bugs. Basic operation of the devices—such as charging and turning them on and off—proved to be a snap as well.

The aforementioned settings toggles work as advertised—with environmental presets for music, restaurant, outdoors, and all-around—that can help users get started.

With other OTC hearing aids I've tested for review, simplicity often translated to a lack of customization, but that's not true of the Jabra Enhance Select 500. It offers the best of both worlds even if you opt for the basic package. While tailoring to a hearing test and the possibility for remote adjustments are great premium benefits that Jabra should probably make free for everyone, there's enough here to get by without it.

They have great battery life and fast charging

The Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids have robust battery life and quick-charging features. Taking just three hours to charge from zero, each full charge offers 24 hours of use. For those who need 12 hours of battery life to make it through the day, just one hour of charge time is necessary.

If you need two hours of use to run a quick errand, that only takes 10 minutes in the charging case. In terms of charging speed and duration alike, these high-tier Jabra hearing aids excel beyond the competition.

The amount of charge storage in the product's case is equally impressive, with enough juice for up to three charges conveniently stored in the housing for times when getting to an outlet isn't possible. That extra power does mean this case is on the larger side, but it's not big enough to be obtrusive. Inside anything but skinny jeans, the case should slide anywhere pretty comfortably.

With charges that last long and finish quickly, users should be able to achieve almost constant use of these hearing aids if that's what they need.

Bluetooth streaming works on all devices

The Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids are among a few OTC hearing aids that can stream media across both Android and iOS. While other hearing aids can stream media, most of those don't have the battery life or discreet profile to function as an all-day hearing solution like the Select 500. Even the streaming controls—like bass and treble—can be quickly accessed through the Jabra Enhance app.

As stated, I found the tulip dome design to be best for streaming since they contain noise well, but other options also work if ear fatigue sets in early. That said, I never experienced any ear fatigue even during long sessions with these hearing aids.

What we don't like about the Jabra Enhance Select 500

High base price and fees for services

It goes without saying that the Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids cost far less than a prescription option, even when sold at $1,995 or $1,795 per pair. That said, these two price points are reasonably high when compared to other OTC hearing aids. For example, the Sony CRE-E10 hearing aids that we love are often sold for less than $1,000 on sale.

Even if you pay $1,795 for the standard version of this high-end Jabra pair, you only get one year of warranty protection, preset settings that aren't explicitly tailored to your hearing profile, and you receive no help from support teams if you need it. For the additional $200 premium fee, your hearing aids are personalized and protected for three years. Users also receive three years of product and tuning support as necessary.

Those customization features are great, but it's worth noting that this is the first OTC hearing aid we've tested that actually charges extra for any sort of hearing test. Two hundred dollars isn't that much of an expense when you factor in the extra warranty coverage, especially, but it's still an added expense competing products don't have. And this is already on top of a steep cost for entry.

Should you buy the Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids?

Yes, if cost isn't a factor

While I wouldn't recommend these hearing aids if you don't have a smart device to pair them with, the Jabra Enhance Select 500s are a great product for both Android and iOS users alike if you have a smartphone.

High pricing is an obvious downside to the Select 500s, but the company does offer payment plans (as low as $58 or $65 per month) as well as cheaper Jabra Enhance models for those on a budget. It's a shame that basic self-fitting features are locked behind a paywall for this product, but, if you can stomach the extra $200, you get great hearing aids that are personalized, sound awesome, and last as long as you need them to.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.