Beltone Hearing Aid Lineup

Beltone offers several types of hearing aids, but I’ll cover three of the latest options. As you read about my experience and choose a model, I’d recommend focusing on these key factors: price, device style, battery type, available features, compatibility with your smartphone, and the level of hearing loss they’re suitable for.

Beltone Serene

The Serene is one of Beltone’s newest offerings. It’s available in the following styles:

• microRIE (receiver-in-ear)
• Receiver in ear (RIE)
• Behind the ear (BTE)
• Completely in canal (CIC)
• Custom-made rechargeable (earbud style)

Beltone Serene can be tailored to address hearing loss from mild to profound. Serene styles include rechargeable and disposable battery options. The microRIE is Beltone’s smallest rechargeable hearing aid to date.

One thing that sets Serene apart is the natural sound quality it produces. The hearing aids reduce extraneous background noise, enabling the wearer to home in on conversations. They’re also easy to use for streaming. Simply double-tap your hearing aid to stream audio, including incoming calls, from your smartphone or tablet directly into your hearing aids.

Beltone Serene is the only hearing aid in Beltone’s lineup that connects to Auracast Bluetooth broadcast technology. Auracast enables Beltone Serene users to connect directly to public audio sources in places like the airport and lecture halls. Auracast also supports connection to Beltone’s new TV-Streamer+ accessory for more comfortable TV watching, even in a group.

Beltone Achieve

The award-winning, rechargeable Achieve is another one of Beltone’s most recent offerings. The hearing aids can be worn by people with mild to profound hearing loss, and they come in the following styles:

• MiniRIE (receiver in ear)
• Receiver in ear (RIE)
• Behind the ear (BTE)
• Completely in canal (CIC)
• Custom-made rechargeable (earbud style)

Achieve uses groundbreaking surround-sound technology to supply crisp, clear sound from every angle, including above, below, behind, and beside you. They rely on a directional microphone system that isolates the sound of human speech from background noise of all types. The result is natural sound, plus easily comprehensible conversational speech. According to the company, Beltone Achieve produces 150 percent sharper speech clarity in noisy environments than its preceding models, such as the Beltone Amaze and the Beltone Imagine. 2

Achieve connects to Beltone’s HearMax app on most iOS and Android devices. You can use the app to adjust your hearing aids and stream media and phone calls. I cover my experience with Beltone’s mobile apps later in this article.

Achieve can get pricey, but the BTE option is more affordable. Beltone doesn’t list prices online, however, so you’ll need to visit a Beltone office to get accurate price estimates. If you have hearing loss in the mild to moderate range and cost is a concern, you may want to consider over-the-counter hearing aids instead of Beltone and other prescription brands.

Beltone Achieve

Beltone Boost Ultra

Patients with severe or profound hearing loss often have to settle for lower-tech solutions, since some manufacturers focus the technologically advanced, bright-and-shiny stuff on the largest segment of the market. Beltone breaks that mold a bit with the Boost Ultra. Sharing technology with the ReSound Enzo, the Boost is best for people with severe or profound hearing loss who want high-level features and functionality.

These traditional BTE instruments use zinc air batteries and require a custom earmold, which your Beltone dealer can make for you. If you’re looking for a rechargeable hearing aid, you’ll want to consider one of Beltone’s other models, since these use disposable batteries.

When I ran cochlear implant programs in the past, I fit many patients with the ReSound equivalent of the Boost Ultra. I appreciate the devices’ durability and flexibility.

A closer look at the Beltone Boost Ultra Hearing Aids

The Boost, which connects to Beltone’s HearMax app, is compatible with most iPhones and Android devices. The app can be used to adjust your hearing aids and stream media and phone calls.

The fact that Beltone hasn’t forgotten the needs of people with more severe hearing loss earns the company points in my book. It also keeps it competitive with the larger players I’ve reviewed, like Oticon, which also have strong histories of providing help to those most in need.

Accessories and Apps

Beltone has several accessories and apps to go along with its hearing aids. The Beltone line uses a 2.4 GHz wireless system to connect to accessories. That’s a very robust and long-range (about 60 feet in most buildings) way to overcome some additional challenges of distance, reverberation, and background noise.

Beltone MyPAL Micro and MyPAL Pro

These small, portable microphones extend your hearing capacity by capturing and streaming sound directly into your hearing aids. The official sound capacity range is 82 feet. I’ve found, however, that depending on certain environmental factors, they’re very reliable up to 60 feet. The remote microphones use the same hardware as the ReSound MultiMic and Mini Mic, and they operate very similarly.

The MyPAL Micro has a directional microphone and accelerometer that senses if the microphone is dropped and mutes it before the “clunk” of the floor happens.

The MyPAL Pro is one of the best values in hearing assistive technology. In addition to the features mentioned above, it also allows for manual adjustment of the microphone’s sensitivity from omni-directional to ultra-narrow. The accelerometer automatically switches to omni when placed on a flat surface.

What makes the device one of my favorite hearing system components is that you can use it as a hub for other technologies. On the bottom of the MyPAL Pro, there are two sockets: one for a standard 3.5 mm audio cable (included) and a three-hole Euro jack. They allow you to connect other audio devices to the MyPAL Pro and then stream to your hearing aids.

I’ve used this feature on ReSound hearing aids to allow people to listen to MP3 players, hearing assistive devices in theaters, or, in the case of students, take advantage of district-owned FM systems like the Phonak Roger that uses a Euro plug.

As if all that weren’t enough, the MyPAL Pro also has a telecoil to allow for connection to wide-area “hearing loops” found in auditoriums, airports, and houses of worship. Even if you have a smaller hearing aid without a telecoil, you can take advantage of this very effective technology that helps with distance, reverberation, and background noise.

Beltone TV Link 2 and TV-Streamer+

These devices connect to televisions and other audio-producing devices by streaming sound directly to your hearing aids. TV-Streamer+ is currently compatible only with the Beltone Serene.

The devices are very easy to connect to your hearing aids, and they support both analog and digital inputs. Streaming reduces the negative effects of distance and reverberation on speech understanding. For people with different volume preferences than their partners, families, and friends, the TV Link 2 and TV-Streamer+ allow you to hear clearly when the TV speakers are very low or even muted.

Beltone TV Link 2

Beltone Phone Link 2

Beltone hearing aids stream to most iOS and Android devices. The Phone Link 2 converts the Bluetooth signal from your phone to the 2.4 GHz signal of your hearing aids. That allows you to hear hands-free in both hearing aids and controls the basic functions of the hearing aid.

It also functions as a basic remote control you can use to adjust your hearing aids and change programs. You can also use it to stream stereo audio from your phone.

Beltone Phone Link 2

Beltone Remote Control 2

With this small remote, you can adjust hearing aid volume and switch streaming devices. It’s very helpful for people with dexterity problems or who require assistance in daily living, since it allows a caregiver to easily control the hearing aids.

Beltone Remote Control 2

HearMax Smartphone App

As the Beltone hearing aid lineup has evolved, so has its smartphone app, HearMax. The app is a very user-friendly, intuitive, and discreet way to control Beltone hearing aids. Once connected, it provides basic volume control and program-selection control. It also allows you to fine-tune your hearing aids in specific settings and adjust the “mixing” of input from accessories such as the MyPAL microphone or TV Link 2.

HearMax Welcome Screen

The updated user interface is attractive, and I like that the tinnitus management is integrated. Well done, Beltone!

Customer Service and Follow-Up Care

Beltone offers much of its customer service through online support. Through the HearMax app, you can send a request to a hearing-aid specialist to reset your hearing aids and get help without leaving your home. I’m a big fan of in-app support, because it makes receiving care much more convenient. That kind of support has become more of the norm in recent years. Even OTC providers we’ve reviewed, such as Jabra Enhance, offer virtual care.

There is also technical support available on the Beltone website for all of its hearing aids and product lines, as well as app support and support for accessories. Beltone also aims to answer many frequently asked questions on its website.

If you have a specific question that cannot be answered with the information available online, you can always send a message via the company’s Contact Us page. There is also a toll-free number available if you need help.

My Experience with Beltone

My first job in audiology in 1992 was for a small, independent private practice. We were a “multiline” office, which means we represented all major hearing-aid manufacturers. At that time, there were two main brands selling hearing aids in our market: Miracle-Ear and Beltone. I had the opportunity to meet and become friends with the owner of the Beltone franchise near us, which gave me a good perspective on the brand and its products.

Back then, Beltone developed and manufactured its own hearing aids out of its Chicago headquarters. The company has since evolved and scaled its operations. It provided a good range of products, from some of the first in-the-ear devices to very powerful behind-the-ear instruments for people with profound hearing loss.

In 2000, Beltone was acquired by the Great Nordic (GN) group that had previously purchased ReSound, another provider I’ve reviewed. The move allowed Beltone to take advantage of GN’s research and development initiatives. Beltone’s technology has evolved and improved thanks to the acquisition, and the company’s hearing aids now have many similarities to ReSound devices.

Despite being owned by GN, Beltone retains its vertical sales channel through its own, single-brand locations. Some are corporate-owned and some are franchises. In my experience, the franchises often have a bit more of a personalized feel, as the owners are usually members of the communities they serve, like my old pal Barry in the ’90s.

Final Thoughts

Beltone’s current generation of products would be a good fit for the vast majority of people with hearing loss. As with any hearing-aid brand, your success is much more about the relationship you foster with the dispenser and the amount of mental calisthenics you’re willing to do to maximize the benefit of your hearing aids.

Beltone offers state-of-the-art hearing aids and accessories for people with all levels of hearing loss. The company’s long history of being members of the local business community allows them to stay relevant in changing times and offer both face-to-face and remote care. If there is a Beltone dealer in your area, I certainly feel it’s worth a look!