The FDA’s new category of Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aids is helping millions of Americans treat their hearing loss affordably. Instead of spending the average price of $4,600 on a pair of conventional hearing aids, consumers can now choose from a wide range of quality, low-cost OTC hearing aid brands to treat their hearing for less.

The challenge is, not all OTC hearing aid brands are the same. Take Audien Hearing, for example. This device provider claims to sell “high-quality hearing aids over-the-counter for less than $100 a pair.” The low price is certainly eye-catching, but the presentation and offerings of this brand are a little misleading.

That’s why we wrote this review—to provide a deep dive into the Audien brand, so you can make an informed decision.

In this article, you’ll learn the following about Audien:

• Does Audien Hearing Sell Real Hearing Aids?

• What’s the Difference Between PSAPs and Real Hearing Aids?

• What Products Does Audien Offer?

• What Do Audien Customers Say About the Brand? 

• Are There Any Legal Claims Against Audien?

• Final Thoughts on Audien Hearing

Does Audien Sell Real Hearing Aids?

It isn’t clear whether all of the hearing aids Audien sells are real, FDA-registered hearing aids. According to what Audien states on their website, “Audien hearing aids come from an FDA-registered facility.” However, a February 2024 article from Forbes Health said the following about Audien’s FDA registration status:

Audien hearing devices can help make sounds louder and clearer, but they aren’t classified as hearing aids by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)... Audien hearing devices are categorized as personal sound amplification products (PSAPs).”

In truth, it appears that at least some of Audien’s hearing aids are FDA registered, and some are not. By searching the FDA website, we found that Audien is rebranding certain hearing aids from the Chinese hearing aid manufacturer, Huizhou Jinghao Medical—and Huizhou Jinghao has disclosed that it is selling some of its FDA registered hearing aids to Auiden (see screenshot below).

We suspect that these may be Audien’s more expensive devices from the Ion Series, but we haven’t been able to verify it. As for the hearing aids that Audien sells for $99 a pair, we suspect that these are Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs). These sound amplifiers may not be FDA registered, and they may not be real hearing aids. 

At the end of the day, one thing is certain, Audien doesn’t disclose to its customers on its website which devices are FDA registered hearing aids and which are not—so shoppers can’t be certain whether they are buying a sound amplifier or a hearing aid.

What’s the Difference Between PSAPs and Hearing Aids?

In order to call a hearing device a “hearing aid,” the manufacturer needs to go through a registration process with the FDA—to ensure the device meets all of the FDA hearing aid requirements. If a manufacturer fails to meet these requirements—or fails to go through the FDA’s hearing aid registration process—the manufacturer cannot lawfully refer to the device as a hearing aid.  

Instead, the device is called a PSAP (personal sound amplification product). Confusingly, the PSAPs from Audien Hearing look a lot like hearing aids, but they do not provide hearing loss treatment. Nor do they always target the specific sound frequencies involved in hearing loss. 

On Amazon, Alibaba, and other online retail websites, PSAPs cost anywhere between $20 and $150 a pair—and they go by a wide variety of names such as:

• Smart Hearing Amplifiers

• Rechargeable Sound Aids

• Sound Amplifier Aids

• Hearing Amplifier Aids

• Hearing Aids Amplifiers

• Digital Hearing Amplifiers

• Personal Sound Amplification Products

• Sometimes they are even falsely marketed as “Hearing Aids,” despite FDA regulations forbidding it.

Unfortunately, the PSAP listening experience is usually awkward, tinny, jarring, and stress-inducing, even in quiet conditions. As many Audien customers attest in their reviews, it appears that some Audien Hearing products are indeed sound amplifiers that only provide a confusing jumble of amplified noise. 

Again, based on the information provided on their website, we cannot be certain which Audien products are sound amplifiers and which ones are the re-branded FDA-registered Huizhou Jinghao models.  

What Products Does Audien Offer?

Audien sells three different series of hearing devices: 

• Atom Series (in-the-ear design)

• Atom 2 Series (in-the-ear design)

• Ion Series (behind-the-ear design)

Let’s take a look at these three product series in detail.

1. Audien Atom and Atom Pro

Starting at just $99 a pair, the Audien Atom is an in-the-ear, hearing device that increases the volume on the sounds around you. The Atom and the Atom Pro are analog devices, which means they do not have the digital processing needed to focus on speech sounds and reduce background noise to help you hear better in noisy situations like restaurants or family gatherings. We suspect that the Atom and Atom Pro devices may work well in extremely quiet environments, but with the introduction of any background noise, using the device can become difficult and aggravating. As for their status as real FDA-registered hearing aids, Audien has not provided an FDA registration number for these devices, and we cannot be certain of their quality.

Key features and characteristics of the Audien Atom include:

• Price: $99 a pair.

• Charging Dock: The charging dock allows users to quickly insert and fully charge their hearing aids in 4 hours.

• “Comfort+” In-the-Ear Design: Audien claims that their in-the-ear design offers a secure and comfortable fit.

• 20-Hour Battery Life: Batteries provide sufficient charge for a full day of use.

• Limited Sound Adjustments: The Audien Atom does not offer different programming for various environments. It only allows for volume changes via a small volume dial that must be adjusted with their “Volume Adjusting Tool,” similar to a tiny screwdriver. This means you must remove the device from your ear and have the tool on hand in order to adjust the volume. 

The Audien Atom Pro offers the following additional features and characteristics:

• Price: $249 a pair.

• Portable Wireless Charging Case: On-the-go recharging with the portable charging case offers greater convenience and up to three additional charges.

• Noise Cancellation: Audien claims that their noise cancellation features reduce background distractions for clearer sound.

• Extended Battery Life: The Atom Pro can last up to 24 hours on a single charge.

• Smaller Size: The Atom Pro is smaller than the Atom.

Both the Audien Atom and Atom Pro provide a 45-day risk-free trial and lifetime support. It isn’t clear whether these are FDA-registered hearing aids or not.

2. Audien Atom 2 and Atom Pro 2

Starting at $189 a pair, the Audien Atom 2 Series is the next generation of the Atom series. Unlike the first Atom series, the Atom 2 and Atom Pro 2 are digital hearing aids. This means they can convert sounds into digital signals and differentiate between environmental sounds and speech sounds, improving their performance in background noise. This series also includes features to provide users with a more customizable hearing experience. Audien claims that this lineup offers improved noise reduction in addition to 24-hour battery life.

Based on the Audien website, we cannot be certain whether the Atom 2 and Atom Pro 2 devices are FDA-registered hearing aids or not. 

Key features and characteristics of the Audien Atom 2 include:

• Price: $189 a pair.

• A2^TM Sound Chip Technology: Audien claims that this feature provides “better sound” and allows you to cycle through different pre-programmed hearing modes for conversation, noisy environment (restaurants), road/vehicle, and outdoor.

• In-The-Ear Design: Like the first Atom series, the Audien Atom features an “in-the-ear” design that sits completely in the ear.

The Audien Atom Pro 2 offers the following additional features and characteristics:

• Price: $289 a pair.

• Noise Reduction Technology: Audien claims their noise reduction technology helps minimize background noise.

• 2-in-1 Cleaning and Charging Case: Built-in UV technology in the charging case kills germs while recharging your hearing aids.

• 24-Hour Battery Life: Audien claims that the Atom 2 provides 24 hours of hearing on a single charge.

• Smaller Size: The Atom Pro 2 is smaller than the Atom 2.

• More Power: The Atom Pro 2 provides more volume for those with higher levels of hearing loss.

Both Atom 2 models come with a 45-day risk-free trial and lifetime support. 

3. Audien Ion and Ion Pro

Starting at $489 a pair, the Ion Series is the most powerful hearing solution from Audien. With its behind-the-ear design and digital, customizable features, the Ion series seeks to provide a higher level user experience. The Ion Pro adds more features, including a smartphone app and Bluetooth connectivity that allows users to stream sounds from their devices. Of all the products Audien sells, we suspect that these devices are the most likely to be FDA-registered. However, we’re unable to certify this from their website as no FDA registration information has been provided.

Key features and characteristics of the Audien Ion include:

• Price: $489 a pair.

• A2 Max^TM Sound Chip: Audien claims that this sound chip offers louder and higher quality sound amplification, in addition to clearer conversation sounds in different environments.

• Directional Sound Technology: The Ion includes four directional microphones and noise reduction features for clearer listening in noisy environments.

• Four Hearing Modes: Like the Atom 2, the Ion offers sound settings for different environments, from quiet spaces to noisy situations.

• 24-Hour Battery Life: Designed to provide enough power for all-day listening on a single charge.

• Behind-The-Ear (BTE) Design: The Ion sits behind the ear. Thin tubing and an earpiece send amplified sounds to the ear.

The Ion Pro includes the following additional features and characteristics:

• Price: $689 a pair.

• Smartphone App: The Ion Pro app allows you to manage volume, switch between sound environment modes, and check battery levels from a smartphone.

• Cycle Through Different Hearing Profiles: The Ion Pro includes sound settings with five hearing profiles that optimize hearing for different listening conditions.

• Bluetooth Connectivity: A Bluetooth connection that allows you to stream audio and phone calls directly to your hearing aids.

• WARNING ABOUT REDUCED BATTERY LIFE: The Audien Ion Pro—as a result of its Bluetooth sound streaming features—has a significantly reduced battery life. According to Audien agents, the hearing aid provides an 8-hour battery life at best. This means that using the Bluetooth sound streaming will reduce the battery life to less than 8 hours of use.

Both Ion models come with Audien’s 45-day risk-free trial and lifetime customer support.

What Do Audien Customers Say About the Brand?

Here is what customers are saying about Audien Hearing products:

• “I have gone through 4 pairs of Audien Atom Pro hearing aids. Each time one hearing aid went dead after a couple weeks. I followed all instructions and not one helped. They even had their engineers check the defective ones I sent back and they were defective. I did have great support from Alfares. He was very understanding of my problems and did everything to resolve my problems and make everything right. He is still trying to find out what is going on and why.they keep going bad so quickly. When the hearing aids work they are great. Support is great but hearing aids are questionable.” -Duane Wyrick, Nov. 14, 2024

• “Audien Ion Pro Bluetooth connectivity failure. Audien Ion Pro Bluetooth connectivity is extremely bad. Hearing aids constantly disconnect and reconnect to the phone (which is accompanied by a voice telling you "disconnected" then "connected" in your ears). I spoke with customer service 3 times. Supposedly the manager of engineering had the last customer service rep tell me to turn off bluetooth until I wanted to use it for streaming or phone calls. In other words, I would have to answer a call then switch to the hearing aids by manually turning on bluetooth and connecting during the call. Totally unacceptable response. It is as if they are saying, we know our hearing aids are not working but that is your problem. Audien has no credibly trained customer service agents. They are reading from a manual to help customers with problems and don't even listen when you tell them you've done all those steps. Absolute failure as a product and a company. I'm sending them back so I can get my full refund. All this within 2 weeks of receiving the hearing aids - buyer beware!” –Quicken Member, Nov. 15, 2024

• “I purchased the most expensive Audien hearing aids. In my opinion, they are not really hearing aids, but rather amplifiers. They did nothing for me. The level of sound increased but they did NOT solve my problem with hearing High pitched sounds. As far as I can tell, there is no way to adjust them to make the high-pitched sounds louder without everything getting louder, but they did not solve my problem with high-pitched sounds. So, if your problem can be solved by using an amplifier, they make work for you, but if you have any issues more complex than that, I doubt they will help you. I know this because I have a more expensive pair of hearing aids that do help me much better.” –Gary, Nov. 6, 2024

• “Trash. They have been scamming for years. Don't waste your time on this trash. If you want better hearing, get real hearing aids. These scammers have been ripping people off for years and people continue to fall for their sales pitch. If it sounds too good to be true.......” –Michael Van Buskirk, November 2021 

• “Worst hearing aid. Doesn't work at all. It doesn't do the basic thing it is supposed to do. My parents were not able to hear any better using this product. It doesn't have a volume control or ON/off button but that's not the problem. Need to carry the charging case all the time.” –Prasanna, April 2022

• “Junk like the rest. Never answer their phones took 8 hours to talk to a person,, First set failed within two weeks. They replaced them and convinced me to buy an extended warranty. What a joke. The second set failed in the warranty period and they require you to send them back at your expense. Remember, they were still under warranty and had extended warranty. told them to stuff it and canceled extended wear. They kept charging me for an extended warranty. took me 4 months to get it all straightened out and get credited. SAVE YOUR MONEY THESE ARE NO BETTER THAN THE $29.00 specials.” –Larry H., January 2022

Are There Any Legal Claims Against Audien?

With a little bit of internet research on Audien Hearing, you will find evidence of legal claims, business name changes, and serious customer complaints. These stories, especially an Arizona District Attorney lawsuit against Audien, do not paint a favorable picture of the company.

Arizona District Attorney Lawsuit: Deceptive Advertising

Labeling a PSAP as a “hearing aid” is not only deceptive, it’s unlawful. As a result, Audien's alleged practice of characterizing its products as "hearing aids" and "FDA registered" provoked the Arizona District Attorney to file a lawsuit against Audien for false advertising. The lawsuit alleged that Audien Hearing committed deceptive advertising, failed to ship products to paying customers, and marketed its products under the guise of multiple brand names. 

According to the Arizona District Attorney’s lawsuit against Audien Hearing:  

Budget Hearing Aids, LLC (“Budget”) began selling hearing devices in October 2019 through Audixhearing.com, a website it owned. In January 2020, Budget shut down Audixhearing.com and began selling hearing devices through Xoomhearing.com, which it also owned. Due to the pandemic, Budget was unable to fill hundreds of orders due to shipping delays from China. As lockdowns in China eased and shipments became available and reliable again, Budget launched Audien LLC (“Audien”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Budget. Audien sells hearing devices through its website, Audienhearing.com.”

The Arizona Attorney General further alleged that Audien engaged in deceptive advertising by describing its products as “FDA-Approved” and “FDA-Registered.” A formal settlement with Audien was announced in May 2021. In the agreement, the Attorney General required Audien to remove those terms and the FDA logo from its website:

As a result of the settlement, the AGO [Attorney General’s Office] required Budget to desist from using this deceptive tactic and to remove the FDA logo and the terms “FDA APPROVED,” and “FDA REGISTERED” from any of its advertising.”

At this time, there is no evidence that Audien Hearing has refunded or fulfilled the pending orders of customers who purchased devices on its now-defunct websites. Therefore, these customers could still be out-of-pocket and left twisting in the wind as a result of their business dealings with Audien.

An Excellent Audien Alternative: MDHearing

Considering that Audien has engaged in so many questionable business practices over the years—and the fact that it is not possible to determine which of their products are sound amplifiers and which are FDA-registered hearing aids—we recommend considering other low-cost OTC hearing aid brands before purchasing a set from Audien. 

For example, all MDHearing hearing aids are real, FDA-registered devices, and customers can verify this on the FDA website. Furthermore, many of the hearing aids MDHearing sells are not only more affordable than Audien, but they also come with the following benefits: 

1. Remote Hearing Care from MDHearing: MDHearing provides remote hearing care services for free to all of our hearing aid customers—regardless of whether they purchase a hearing aid or not. Our remote hearing care service involves taking a free online hearing test, consulting with a licensed hearing professional, and receiving personalized hearing treatment recommendations. 

2. Remote Hearing Aid Adjustments Using Professional Audiological Standards: Patients with an in-office audiogram or hearing test who purchase the MDHearing VOLT MAX can send the results to MDHearing. From there, we’ll remotely adjust your hearing aid settings over the internet using the same standards that professional hearing clinics use. 

3. Automatic Hearing Aid Adjustments and Personalization Capabilities: The VOLT MAX hearing aids also include personalization technology that makes the customization of sound settings on your hearing aids easier than ever. This feature is included in the MDHearing app, which takes you through a “hearing check” that determines your unique hearing loss profile. The MDHearing app then automatically adjusts the sound settings on your hearing aid to reflect your hearing loss profile. 

4. Lifetime support: MDHearing is very proud of their highly responsive U.S.-based team of hearing specialists. Our team is available to help you set up your hearing aids and get the most out of them while treating your hearing loss.

By contrast, Audien doesn’t offer remote hearing care or custom hearing aid adjustments based on your audiogram. Nor does Audien offer consultations with licensed audiologists or hearing specialists.

MDHearing Prices

With the prices of MDHearing models ranging from just $297 to $597 a pair, MDHearing offers higher levels of quality and performance than Audien for a significantly lower price. Also, when you consider that all MDHearing products are FDA-registered hearing aids that come with remote care from real hearing professionals, the choice is clear.

Final Thoughts on Audien Hearing

At MDHearing, we’re passionate about high-quality, OTC hearing aids—not just because it's our business, but because affordable hearing care offers life-transforming benefits. 

For this reason, we don’t just celebrate MDHearing and its lineup of quality, FDA-registered hearing aids. We also celebrate other businesses that are honestly and ethically helping to lower the cost of quality hearing care around the world—such as Lively, Eargo, TruHearing, and Costco. 

More poignantly, when we find evidence of an unethical business that is preying upon budget-conscious hearing loss patients—especially when they are engaged in deceptive advertising and dishonest business practices—MDHearing is going to let you know about it! 

To make a long story short, we don’t trust the quality of Audien Hearing for the following reasons:

• Deceptive marketing practices: Audien has falsely claimed they are selling “hearing aids” in the past, when they were actually selling personal sound amplifiers. It’s possible that Audien has now corrected this practice, but we are unable to find proof of which devices on their website are FDA-registered, and which ones could be sound amplifiers. 

• Deceptive business practices: According to the Arizona lawsuit, Audien shut down their websites, renamed their businesses, and rebranded their products—potentially leaving paying customers with unfulfilled orders twisting in the wind. 

• Numerous online customer complaints and negative reviews: Online Audien Hearing reviews continually show that Audien products are of poor quality and do not help their customers with hearing loss. 

Now that you've explored Audien Hearing in this article, we sincerely hope you remember that there are plenty of trustworthy FDA-registered OTC hearing aid providers selling affordable, high-quality hearing aids. Please do your research and find the most appropriate options for your hearing loss and needs.

Explore MDHearing's high-quality, FDA-registered hearing aids—as low as $297 a pair.
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