MaxHear
Built for the difference between louder and clearer
Go Hearing Reviews & Alternative: Louder, Not Clearer
Go Hearing sells three tiers — Go Lite, Go Prime and Go Ultra. Independent lab testing shows a real split between them: the Go Prime earns a B grade, but the Go Ultra scores a C, ranking #49 of 63 OTC hearing aids tested, with a speech-in-noise score falling notably below the category average. Real customer reviews of the Go Ultra describe exactly that gap in their own words: the device makes things louder without making conversation clearer.
MaxHear is a sound amplifier app for iPhone and Android that lets you judge the sound for yourself, for free, using headphones you already own, before you buy any tier.
Free to try with no account, no email and no card. Headphones required.
"My son noticed it before I did. He said I was answering questions wrong. At first I laughed it off. Then I started noticing how often I was asking people to repeat themselves. I like that MaxHear isn't some huge commitment financially. It's given me some extra help where I need it."
Evelyn J., 68 — Nashville, TN · MaxHear userWhat Go Ultra owners actually say — and why it matches the lab data
We read the Go Ultra's published customer reviews in full, checked 19 August 2026. What owners describe lines up closely with HearAdvisor's independent measurement of the same device.
In owners' own words:
"All they do is make everything louder, background noise is awful. Waste of $500.00."
customer review — February 2025"The hearing aids are junk and they dont give you your refund back I have been waiting over a year dont buy them."
customer review — March 2025That's a precise, if unhappy, description of what the lab measured: the Go Ultra amplifies volume broadly rather than isolating speech from background noise, which is the specific thing most people buying a hearing aid actually need. HearAdvisor's own summary calls the device's real-world benefit "minimal" for speech enhancement.
The finding worth knowing before you buy: "Go Hearing" isn't one product, and the name doesn't tell you which tier you're getting
Go Prime and Go Ultra carry the same brand name and a similar look, but they perform differently enough in lab testing that a review of one doesn't tell you much about the other — a B grade versus a C, with a real, below-average gap specifically in speech-in-noise performance. If you're comparing prices or reading reviews for "Go Hearing," confirm which exact model — Lite, Prime, or Ultra — the price or the review is actually about before assuming it applies to what you'd receive.
What it costs
Go Hearing's tiers span a wide price and performance range.
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Go Prime, per pair | $299 | HearAdvisor / retail listings |
| Go Ultra, per pair | $499 | HearingTracker |
| Trial (Go Ultra) | 45 days | HearingTracker |
| Warranty (Go Ultra) | 1 year | HearingTracker |
| Reported refund experience | one reviewer describes waiting over a year | customer review |
| MaxHear | free to find out, then the plan is shown in the app | — |
Original Medicare covers neither hearing aids nor the exams used to fit them. If Go Prime's higher lab score is what you're after, confirm you're ordering that specific model, not Go Ultra.
Go Hearing vs MaxHear
Both are self-fit. Compared on what's actually different once that's equal.
| What matters | MaxHear Sound amplifier app | Go Ultra OTC self-fit hearing aid |
|---|---|---|
| Try before you own anything | Yes — free mode, permanently No account, no email, no card | Only after buying 45-day window; one review describes a refund taking over a year |
| Independently measured speech in noise | Not lab-tested A general-purpose amplifier, not a clinical device | -0.8/5 HearAdvisor, bottom quarter of 63 devices tested |
| Adjustable by you | Yes, live Four-band equalizer, changes as you listen | Limited Reviews describe general loudness, not targeted clarity |
| Hardware required | None Uses the phone and headphones you own | Yes A physical device, and which tier matters |
| Cost | 3 days free to try, then the plan is shown in the app Nothing to buy to find out | $299–$499 a pair Medicare pays nothing |
If you're set on Go Hearing, the lab data points toward Go Prime over Go Ultra for anyone prioritizing speech clarity. If you first want to know whether amplification helps you at all — and specifically whether it helps with speech, not just volume — MaxHear answers that for free before any purchase.
Why people check MaxHear before choosing a Go Hearing tier
Chosen from what actually recurs in the lab data and reviews above — not a generic list.
Built for the thing that actually matters
MaxHear's Voice Focus is designed to lift speech rather than amplify everything, noise included — test it directly against your own hardest listening moment.
One product, no tier confusion
No need to confirm which version of MaxHear a review is describing — there's one app.
Nothing to refund
No purchase, no return process — MaxHear's free mode is simply there.
Judge clarity for yourself, live
MaxHear's four-band equalizer — bass, voice, clarity, treble — lets you find out in real time whether a setting actually helps you understand speech.
Which one is actually right for you
Three honest positions, not two.
Your loss is beyond what a budget OTC device covers
Severe or profound loss, one-ear loss, or conductive or mixed loss needs a professional. Go promptly if loss came on suddenly or you have ear pain, discharge, dizziness or ringing.
You want the better-tested tier at a lower price
Its B-grade lab score is real, and it's the cheaper of the two models — a reasonable budget starting point if you confirm you're ordering it specifically.
You want to judge speech clarity yourself first
Your struggle is situational, or you'd rather test amplification with your own ears than choose between two tiers on the same brand name. Test it free first.
A ten-minute check before you pick a tier
Do this before adding anything to a cart. It costs nothing and gives you your own answer.
Write down your three hardest moments
The restaurant table, the phone call, the TV at family dinners. Specific beats "I can't hear well."
Grab headphones you already own
Wired or Bluetooth, whatever you have — no new hardware needed to test the question.
Start in a quiet room, level low
The app opens quiet on purpose — you set the level, with one person talking to you.
Then test your actual worst room
The kitchen mid-cooking, or a café at lunch. That's the situation you're really solving for.
Judge it on one thing
Are you asking people to repeat themselves less — not whether it just sounds louder? If yes, you've learned amplification helps.
FAQ: Go Hearing reviews and alternatives
Is Go Prime the same as Go Ultra?
No. They're different models under the same brand name, and independent lab testing rates them differently — Go Prime earns a B grade, Go Ultra a C, with Go Ultra scoring notably below average on speech in noise. Confirm exactly which tier a price or review refers to.
Does Go Ultra actually help with hearing conversations?
Lab testing and customer reviews point the same direction: it amplifies overall volume more than it isolates speech, with a speech-in-noise score in the bottom quarter of OTC devices tested by HearAdvisor.
How much does Go Hearing cost?
Go Prime runs about $299 a pair; Go Ultra runs about $499, with a 45-day trial and 1-year warranty, per HearingTracker.
Is Go Hearing connected to Eargo or Lexie?
Go Hearing is one of the brands under LXE Hearing, the parent company also behind Eargo and Lexie, which we cover separately — see those pages for the details of LXE's 2026 wind-down of U.S. operations.
Can an app replace a hearing aid?
No, and MaxHear doesn't claim to. It's a sound amplifier app, not a medical device, and isn't authorized as a hearing aid. Its purpose is answering whether amplification helps you at all, for free, before you spend anything on hardware.
Related reading
See Voice Focus, the equalizer and Ear Guard inside the app
A walk through the four screens that do the work, in the order you'll meet them.
Free to tryWhat's free forever, and what Premium adds
The exact limits of the free mode, and what unlocks with the 3-day trial.
A sister brand under the same parentLexie reviews & alternative
Also part of LXE Hearing, with its own current story.
Compare other brands
Jabra Enhance and Lexie sit in the same self-fit OTC category, each with their own separate story. We're building an honest page for each.
Stop asking people to repeat themselves
Install MaxHear, connect the headphones you already own, and hear the next conversation clearly.