MaxHear
Built for before your card gets charged for a plan you can't reach anyone about
HearingAssist Reviews & Alternative: Billed While Ghosted
HearingAssist is not BBB accredited, and has answered zero of its 25 most recent BBB complaints, checked 19 August 2026. One complaint describes something more specific than simple unresponsiveness: a customer says the company continued billing for an "extended plan" during five months of being unreachable by phone or email.
Independent lab testing of the HearingAssist Control gives it a B grade — the hardware itself isn't the issue reviewers describe. MaxHear is a sound amplifier app for iPhone and Android that answers whether amplification helps you at all, for free, using headphones you already own — nothing to bill, and no plan to get stuck paying for.
Free to try with no account, no email and no card. Headphones required.
"Nobody tells you how annoying little hearing problems can be. Drive-thru window. Phone. Restaurant. Somebody talking from another room. None of it seems like a big deal until it happens 20 times a day. MaxHear has made those little moments easier for me. That's enough."
Karen T., 64 — Minneapolis, MN · MaxHear userWhat HearingAssist customers actually say
We read HearingAssist's most recent Better Business Bureau complaints in full, checked 19 August 2026. The company is not accredited, and has responded to none of its 25 most recent complaints.
In complainants' own words:
"she would call, send them back...they couldn't reach them...They only had a machine taking messages...ghosted us for 5 months...they are still billing her for the extended plan."
BBB complaint — 6 May 2024"I ordered a hearing aid and they will not ship it. They have no customer service. Phone number does not work...Its been 3 weeks and nothing."
BBB complaint — 28 April 2024"every number was disconnected...I tried to email them, and my email was sent back unreceived."
BBB complaint — 5 February 2024A separate, more recent complaint describes a hardware fault rather than a service one: "one of them does not work and the other one does not even turn on at all even after being fully charged" (BBB complaint, 29 June 2025) — a reminder that when devices do fail, the same unresponsive support pattern applies to getting them fixed.
The finding worth knowing before you buy: billing kept working even when nothing else did
A 100% non-response rate across 25 complaints is a serious pattern on its own. What makes the "extended plan" complaint above worth calling out specifically is what it implies: the company's payment processing continued functioning normally — charges went through — during the exact period its phone line, email, and customer service were completely unreachable. That's a distinction worth sitting with if you're considering any add-on plan, warranty extension, or subscription HearingAssist offers at checkout.
What it costs
HearingAssist positions itself as a budget-to-midrange OTC brand.
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HearingAssist Control, per pair | $549 | HearAdvisor / HearingTracker |
| BBB accreditation | not accredited | Better Business Bureau |
| Complaint response rate | 0 of 25 most recent | Better Business Bureau |
| 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 you buy from HearingAssist, screenshot the order confirmation and any advertised return policy at checkout — per multiple complaints, that documentation is what you'll need if support goes silent.
HearingAssist vs MaxHear
Both are self-fit. Compared on what's actually different once that's equal.
| What matters | MaxHear Sound amplifier app | HearingAssist Control OTC self-fit hearing aid |
|---|---|---|
| Try before you own anything | Yes — free mode, permanently No account, no email, no card | Only after buying Complaints describe support as unreachable after |
| Getting a response when something's wrong | N/A — nothing to file No purchase, no ticket | 0 of 25 recent complaints answered Per BBB, checked 19 August 2026 |
| Billing you can control | Yes Nothing charged until you decide | Reportedly continues regardless One complaint describes billing during 5 months of silence |
| Hardware required | None Uses the phone and headphones you own | Yes A physical device that can fail before support can help |
| Cost | 3 days free to try, then the plan is shown in the app Nothing to buy to find out | $549 a pair Medicare pays nothing |
If you buy from HearingAssist, decline optional add-on plans and keep close track of your statement. If you'd rather not take on that risk to find out whether amplification helps you at all, that's the question MaxHear answers first, for free.
Why people check MaxHear before ordering from HearingAssist
Chosen from what actually recurs in the complaints above — not a generic list.
Nothing billed you don't approve first
MaxHear's free mode has no card on file, no recurring charge to monitor.
No complaint to file
No purchase, no support ticket sitting unanswered — MaxHear's free mode simply works.
Nothing to wait on delivery for
The free mode is available the moment you install the app.
Nothing to charge or troubleshoot
MaxHear runs on the phone you already keep charged, and any headphones you own.
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 accept the documented support risk
The hardware itself is lab-decent. If you buy, decline extended plans, pay by credit card for dispute protection, and document everything.
You'd rather not test a support line to find out
Your struggle is situational, or you want a lower-risk way to learn whether amplification helps before ordering hardware from any seller. Test it free first.
A ten-minute check before you order
Do this before adding anything to a cart. It costs nothing and gives you a real 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? If yes, you've learned amplification helps — without a card on file with anyone.
FAQ: HearingAssist reviews and alternatives
Is HearingAssist BBB accredited?
No. HearingAssist has not responded to any of its 25 most recent BBB complaints, checked 19 August 2026.
Will I keep being billed if I can't reach HearingAssist?
At least one BBB complaint describes exactly that: billing for an "extended plan" continuing through five months during which the company couldn't be reached by phone or email. Monitor your statement closely and dispute charges with your card issuer if support goes silent.
Is the HearingAssist Control actually a decent device?
By independent lab measurement, reasonably so — HearAdvisor rates it grade B. The recurring complaints are about ordering, shipping and support, not the hardware's baseline sound quality.
How much does HearingAssist cost?
The Control model runs about $549 a pair, per HearAdvisor and HearingTracker.
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.
Another zero-response complaint recordOticon reviews & alternative
A very different price tier, with its own unanswered-complaint story.
Compare other brands
Lexie and Eargo sit in the same self-fit OTC category, each with its own documented risk worth reading before you buy. 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.