Banglijian Ziv-201A Small BTE Hearing Aid Rechargeable

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.

For the price, these are great! My dad originally purchased these for my mom. But she refused to even try them. So dad tried them on himself & they have worked well. One if them malfunctioned very close the the end of the warranty period. I contacted the company & they made a few suggestions of things to try before returning/replacing the faulty one. By the time I tried their suggestions the warranty had lapsed. But they honored the warranty & quickly replaced the faulty unit. I would recommend these hearing amplifiers to anyone who does not have an extra several thousand dollars sitting around to spend on hearing aids. Pros: affordable, excellent, prompt customer service who stand behind their products. They seem to work well for my dad. The TV is no longer turned up full blast. We are planning to buy another set for my mother. Cons: sometimes they squeal & pick up loud background noises. I’ve got a little chihuahua/pomeranian mix who has no clue as to using his indoor voice. For such a little guy, his bark is super loud. If dad has the hearing amplifiers in, it about blows him into next Sunday. Luckily for dad, the little pomchi does not live with us, only comes to visit. I need to invest in a squirt gun & give little pomchi a squirt every time he opens his cute little mouth! Bottom line: dad is satisfied with this product. I’m much happier as I don’t have to listen to Fox News at full blast. Now I just need to get a pair into mom’s ears & life will be so so nice & quiet & I will no longer have to yell & repeat myself 3 or more times in her presence. And yes the TV is on beyond full blast when she is watching it. Thank you Banglijian!!!

UPDATE: Both my replacement are going downhill after 22 months on one and the other is going on 3.5 years since these both were free replacements under the 3 year warranty am not too upset. This time around I contact customer service and they responded the next day by e-mail. I knew I wouldn't get a replacement since one replacement was under 18 months warranty, it made it to almost 24 months .It still works sound wise, but wouldn't hold a charge for more the 9 hours .This hear aids hold 24 hrs or more if charged everyday for two hours ,so at 8 o'clock every night it would shut off and if I needed for more time I would charge again. The older hearing aid audio was decreasing by evening time .I could hear somewhat but had to turn up TV. Like I said not disappointed it is over 3 years old .Hearing aids on average last 3 to 5 years. I question having it repair ,but it came to $60.00 which include me paying shipping. They were running a special on the 201A for two at 169.00 which is a great saving since one cost 139.00. So I ordered them and added the 3 year warranty supply by Amazon .I have received the two and they came in a magnet lock box with all the accessories within two days .I love this company ,little disappointed they changed warranty from 3 years to 18 months but I totally get it, feel for the price these hearing aids are worth the money since they are ditgital circuited and are easy to use and rechargeable which is such a nice feature over batteries and cost wise you can't beat the price or the service. If you read the booklet carefully you can trouble shoot these without a problem. Also like the ear plugs which come in different sizes which is key in using them. I wear these with my glasses with no problem ,mask was a bit of a problem, but we're getting away from that so that's a plus. Also if am not wearing my aids I don't hear TV and can only hear my husband if I am in the same room and standing close ,so they work really well if your really hard hearing I think. Written two years ago: I have 4 of these amplifiers. One went out after 15 months it wouldn’t recharge company replaced free of charge. I wore replacement for 14 months and started having problems again I contacted Banglijian customer service was told I would have to pay for parts to fix. I disagreed because I was told 3 year warranty on replacement . Found out there was a policy change, but being a loyal user cause I bought another new one till I could get a replacement because of warranty ,also I had to have something to use. Customer service gifted me another one since I was under old agreement with warranty.