Banglijian Hearing Amplifier Rechargeable Ziv-201A "FDA Approved" BTE Digital Noise Cancelling Small Size (Fit to Either Ear)

What I liked about the hearing aid was for about the first few times i wore it using an open dome tips on the lowest sound setting, there was no whistling, feedback, and no distortion. The only effect was that sound was crisper and brighter and therefore more understandable. Basically it was like magic. With the closed dome tips the mid and lower ranges were affected and I didn't like the sound. I have no hearing loss in the middle and low ranges and only a small loss in the upper end. I had read that using the open dome tips would allow for ambient sound in the middle and lower ranges. This was true to start with and I liked the quality of the sound. It was a subtle improvement and I stopped asking people to repeat themselves. But off and on, the tube bothered my ear, making it itch. I also swim, wear headphones and am in loud situations often where I wear ear plugs instead of a hearing aid, so I haven't worn it that much. I'm out in the rain, and might be putting it on after swimming or working out, so possibly it has too great an exposure to wet conditions. I find it frustrating that it has no bluetooth capability to connect to my phone or music. The lack of intelligent charging which means I have to watch how long it's plugged in more of a hassle than I thought it would be. It may take an hour or four to fully charge and I'm always checking. I don't wear it enough to know if the itching will be a deal breaker, but I've found that it started having possibly an electrical contact problem, with static coming and going, whining, buzzing and distortion. Even though I turn it down always until I hear the three beeps for the quietest setting, I now think the volume control stopped working so it's probably always on high. As it started out working correctly, I have no confidence in it's durability. I've actually only worn it about 30 or 40 hours total over the last month I've had it. It's been about 40 days and I will see how the return works. Before I bought the device I sent Banglijian a question about what to order for my type of hearing loss and the Ziv-201 was recommended by Kaven who wrote me back. I chose the A series because the tubes were smaller and I often wear reading or sunglasses.Amazon allowed me to return the amplifier for a refund and I did. I ordered two different ones from Laiwen that only distorted sound for me which I sent back and now am trying out one from Hören that advertises water resistance. Although comfortable and seemingly durable, with no itching and batteries that last for days, there is no magic of sound or clarity of speech. It amplifies everything, but for some reason doesn't seem to amplify the consonants I find hard to distinguish and the reason I'm using an aid. It only comes with closed dome tips, so I'm hoping the open tip domes I've ordered will do the trick. If not, I may force myself to try an amplifier of a different style before coming back to the Ziv-201A. I have a power bank now and I could try charging it while swimming, which would help me deal with the lack of a smart charger.I'm upgrading my review to three stars because I have complete faith that Kaven would have replaced my amplifier and I think their warranty is the best I've seen. I'm comparing all other amplifiers to this one and may reorder yet if I can get better cleaning instructions. Can a hearing aid dryer help? Is it possible to use a wire or in the tubes or a hearing aid bulb to blow them out?

I can't praise these units and the company's customer support high enough. About two months ago, I finally went to a hearing specialist to get my hearing loss tested, and to learn of the cost and viability of hearing aids. My hearing loss has been gradually getting worse over the past few years and gotten to the point where I was frustrated trying to hear conversations in public settings and even at home with my very patient wife. I am a very active 72 and spent nearly all of my adult life in and around airplanes and nearby loud rocket engines. The hearing specialist, did a comprehensive exam and hearing test and said I had moderate to severe hearing loss especially in the higher frequencies, mostly over the audio spectrum of the human voice and higher. Since I was hearing only the lows, almost all the speech I heard was a muffled, garbled mess and I was missing over half the conversation nearly regardless of who was talking. I say "nearly" because those who pronounced the consonants, and had better diction, were more understandable than others and oddly enough, folks speaking louder didn't help. The hearing specialist let me try out a couple of different types of hearing aids, supposedly tailored to mitigate my loss over the higher frequency spectrum. The estimated cost to purchase $4,000 to 6,000 for a pair. That was a bit much, especially on a fixed income and no help from medicare and a little from my supplemental health insurance. So I went without.......at least until a few weeks ago. I found Banglijian on-line at Amazon and read their specs very closely. Did I mention I am a retired engineer, pilot and rocket surgeon ? No? Well I am/was and we typically analyze everything to the nth degree. At first I ordered one of their model BLJ-109 which offered gain (or amplification) 70-110 dB for moderate to severe hearing loss. I was really excited when it arrived. The quality looked to be outstanding, the modes of operation were just what I wanted and it covered the audio spectrum improvement in the higher frequencies where I was lacking, it was noise cancelling and was re-chargeable. Wow! After trying it on, I heard sounds I have long forgotten. The refrigerator running, birds singing, the washing machine and dryer thumping, etc. Then came the shock sounds of a cabinet door closing a little too hard, the air compressor kicking in, loud motorcycles zooming by......etc., etc. I knew very shortly, this were far too loud for me, even on the lowest volume setting. Perhaps I was mistaken in what I ordered or the hearing aid specialist over-stated my hearing loss. In any event, I ordered the model Ziv-201A (subject of this review) to try. I had similar features as the 109 but a better, lower gain for me. I figured I needed 2 hearing aids anyway as I had bilateral hearing loss. My amazement in the trying the new model was similar to the first except I could hear just fine on the lowest volume setting of the 201A. If I needed a little more volume, I could just turn it up and still had plenty of gain left as my hearing will no doubt continue to decline. I should also mention the 201A has a much smaller diameter ear tube, it fits me better, is more comfortable and much less noticeable from the side or front view. Not that I'm so vain, but I know folks who are, and would never wear one in public. I sent a note to Banglijian, via Amazon, of my discovery and to my amazement they offered to take the 109 hearing aid back and send me another Ziv-201A to replace it, so now I'd have two of the same types. I agreed to pay the return shipping and the difference in price, but that was really insignificant. I now have two matched and perfectly functioning aids (amplifiers if you wish) that for now completely solves my hearing problem in the frequency range of interest. Now to see how they hold up, but I don't think that will be much of an issue as they come with a 3 year warranty and their customer support seems to be outstanding in every way. The cost is especially rewarding.....A couple of hundred dollars plus change versus $4-6K. No, they don't have all the bells and whistles like blue tooth connectivity, program selection via a cell phone, cell phone answering and conversation from 25 feet away, but I think I can live with that. In the meantime, thank you Banglijian, and to folks who might be hesitant, give them a try. Based on my experience, I honestly don't see how one can go wrong. Read the specifications carefully and hopefully you can find one that works for you at an amazingly affordable price.

Hello. First, I had a whole paragraph of my thoughts written to share almost completed , when I arrowed out to check on a weblink and lost the whole message. So, I am starting over: This is not a criticism, but a sharing of an experience that might be helpful to others. My left hearing amplifier did not seem to work (no sound amplified ) for a couple of days. Before I decided to contact the customer service representative , Kaven, I decided to change the sound tube and the ear dome. When I pulled the tube and dome out of my ear and examined them closely, I found a tiny piece of fuzz stuck to the underside of the eardome. When I changed the dome, the amplifier started working again. I share this just to left folks know that was my experience. I want to give Kaven high praise for corresponding back very quickly to my inquiries and questions while I am learning how to use thies hearing amplifiers. I just wish I could talk to him by way of an old fashioned telephone !!! My experience so far (about one month) has been that the amplifiers work well when I am watching TV or in a small group conversation. In other cases, the amplifier makes the other sounds too loud, so I turn them off temporarily while still in my ears. Also, I am still having trouble adjusting them to avoid the "whistling sound." I like the fact that these have rechargeable batteries by using USB connections vs. the tiny batteries that have to be manually changed ever so often. However, my experience is that the charge does not last as long as is stated in the user manual on page 10 of 20 to 24 hours. At best, mine have lasted about 16 hours and that is with them being in my ears but not always turned on due to the circumstances I am in. Also , it was very helpful for Kaven to send me a .pdf file download of the users manual so it can be printed in a larger size pages.. The size of the paper Users Manual is a bit small for tired eyes. It might be helpful to have that download link of the users manual attached to the description of the hearing amplifiers right on the Amazon page of description for the devices. For folks shopping, having a readable users manual to review before one decided to buy the product, I think would be VERY helpful. Now, I am going to hit the "Submit" button before I lose this paragraph again. Judy G., Clinton, TN

I'm no newbie to hearing aids. This was my 4th set. I've tried everything from cheapy analog amplifiers to big name brands costing over 4K. These beat them all. I started out with one ZIV-201A. It helped a lot in every situation but I still couldn't hear the TV very good and it just wasn't quite powerful enough for my worst ear. I knew from the start that two aids would be necessary at some point so I ordered a more powerful unit, the ZIV-206. Just a few dollars more. Both are the same size and are the most comfortable aids I've ever used. Like all hearing aids they take time to adjust to your situation. I used both ear tubes off and on to see what worked best for me. I found the slim tubes worked just fine after a fairly long trial. They weigh next to nothing and I wear them all day. Finding the right ear bud takes a bit of effort but you should be able to find one that fits OK. I love the rechargeable feature. No more messing with batteries. I set up a small recharging space. At bedtime I plug them in but do not start the charging. In the morning I switch the power on and they charge in around one and a half hours. Take note that the ZIV-206 charges much faster. Like about 30 minutes faster. Also the features on that model has more controls and a lot more power. When I bought it, it was only $15 dollars more. At some point the battery will deplete. They say after about 500 charges. That's less than 2 years. Replacing batteries is not a do-it-yourself project. You either send them back for replacement or buy a new aid. Since I'm on the last 4 holes in the back 9 of life I will probably buy new as necessary and send in the older ones for repair. For me, the ZIV-206 is the way to go. Another plus is when you get in those loud big box stores or hearing a lot of road noise, you can simply reach up and press the on-off button. No more taking them off and opening a battery case. Remember this. The on and off buttons are not instantaneous. For either mode hold down for 3 or 4 seconds before releasing. Yes, it will take time to get it adjusted to your liking and as with all aids it will never replace a good set of natural ears. Don't expect it. These are certainly worth a try before you spend thousands on the main name brands.Update review: The hearing aid just quit. Fully charged or so it says. It will not turn on. I had this same issue with the first one and returned. When it works it does fine but going bad after less than 3 months is not acceptable. I hope the sellers read this and supply a replacement. I will ship back once I receive a pre-paid mailer. As a consumer I would stick with their 206 model. I have it also and it is a much improved model. I do wish there were better instructions regarding contacting the seller directly. I will report as to their response.Correction: The hearing aid works fine. I discovered the tube was plugged with wax. These tubes are very small and even a small amount can plug them. Lesson learned--check the tubes daily.

I definitely could hear better, but the sound was tinny and there was always the "sound of the rushing wind." You know how when you hold a shell to your ear and you hear the rushing sound? That is what I heard. Since then I have done research, and the PSAPs that do NOT use RIC (Receiver in Canal) will have that sound. I tried two non-RIC ones from this company, and both had the sound of rushing wind. I am sure that other companies using this technology have the same sound. I also got a RIC type from a different company, and it did not have the rushing wind sound. In fact, I had to check that it was on despite that I could hear better.What I liked about it was that it stayed nicely in my ear and I hardly knew it was there. It is fairly hidden too. It was easy to use and change from program to program.What I didn't like was the way the sound was decoded into my ear. Most music sounded horrible to me. It had more of a "too much treble" sound and sounded quite tinny. The sound seemed distorted to me.My hearing has been diagnosed as mild to moderate from two hearing tests at a local ear doctor and audiologist office. Rather than pay thousands for a hearing aid, I decided to choose from among the many PSAPs available. This was my first choice, but it will not be my last. I returned it and the other three from this company and so far have kept a PSAP using RIC technology. (Some information about RIC: " the RIC’s loudspeaker or “receiver” is located outside the housing and positioned at the end of a thin earwire, placed near the ear drum. Since generated sound only has to travel a very short distance with lower transmission loss, less sound energy (and battery power) is required to produce a superior listening experience.." You know it is a RIC type when you see the wire running from the aid through the tube to your ear).I can't recommend this PSAP or any using non-RIC technology because they are inferior to the RIC type.