MaxHear
Built for the difference between "fixes the TV" and "fixes the day"
TV Ears Reviews: What It's For, Plus an Alternative
TV Ears is genuinely well-regarded: the BBB lists it as an accredited business with an A+ rating and only 2 complaints closed in the past 3 years — a strong record in this comparison series. But it's worth being clear about what it is: a wireless headset that plugs into a base station connected to your TV. It solves TV audio specifically. It does nothing for a restaurant table, a phone call, or a conversation across the room.
MaxHear is a sound amplifier app for iPhone and Android that works anywhere, using headphones you already own, for free — not just in front of the television.
Free to try with no account, no email and no card. Headphones required.
"For me it's restaurants. At home I do pretty well, but put me somewhere with music, dishes clanking and five people talking and I'm lost."
Janet B., 64 — Tampa, FL · MaxHear userWhat's actually documented about TV Ears
This is one of the few pages in this series where the record is mostly positive. Checked 19 August 2026.
The two BBB complaints on file are worth reading in full because they're rare enough to be specific rather than a pattern. One, filed March 2025: "Received tv ears Fedx. On feb. 25. This was replacement of a faulty pair. New pair was faulty as well," with the customer stating they "Ask for a refund they denied." The other, filed October 2024, describes a headset that "stopped charging as of Sept 30th 2024," where the customer expected free warranty coverage but was reportedly offered a paid replacement battery instead.
That second complaint points to the one piece of fine print worth knowing: TV Ears advertises a 5-year warranty, but the free-replacement provision specifically covers failures "within the first year of the original purchase date." After year one, the company's own terms don't guarantee a free replacement, which is exactly the gap the October 2024 complainant ran into. TV Ears also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for buyers who simply don't like the product.
The finding worth knowing before you buy: know exactly what problem this solves
TV Ears isn't a hearing aid and doesn't claim to be one. It's a TV-listening accessory, and by the evidence available, a solid one. The thing to get right isn't whether it works — it's whether your actual problem is "I can't hear the television" specifically, or something broader. If it's broader, a device wired to one room won't reach it.
What it costs
A modest one-time price for a single room.
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| TV Ears 5.0 Original System | $129.95 | TV Ears' own site |
| Money-back window | 30 days, full refund | TV Ears' own site |
| Free replacement window (failure) | First year only, shipping/handling cost | TV Ears' own site |
| MaxHear | free to find out, then the plan is shown in the app | — |
Original Medicare covers neither hearing aids nor TV-listening accessories. At $129.95 for one room's worth of coverage, TV Ears is inexpensive for what it does — but it's a per-room cost if you want the same fix in a bedroom or den too.
TV Ears vs MaxHear
A solid single-room fix vs. a free way to test amplification anywhere.
| What matters | MaxHear Sound amplifier app | TV Ears TV-listening headset system |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Anywhere Restaurants, work, conversations, TV | Wherever the TV base station is One room, one TV |
| BBB record | Not applicable Not a BBB-listed hardware retailer | A+, accredited, 2 complaints in 3 years One of the strongest records in this series |
| Try before you own anything | Yes — free mode, permanently No account, no email, no card | 30-day money-back guarantee Full refund if you return it in time |
| Hardware required | None Uses the phone and headphones you own | Yes Base station plus wireless headset, $129.95 |
| Cost | 3 days free to try, then the plan is shown in the app Nothing to buy to find out | $129.95, per room Medicare pays nothing |
These two aren't really competitors — they solve different-sized problems. If the television is genuinely your only struggle, TV Ears has the evidence to back it up. If you also miss things at the dinner table or in a noisy store, that's outside what a TV-bound headset can do, and worth testing separately.
Why people check MaxHear when the problem is bigger than the TV
Chosen from what actually recurs in the research above — not a generic list.
Works wherever you are
MaxHear runs on the phone already in your pocket, so it travels with you instead of staying wired to one room.
Nothing to warranty because nothing to own
The free mode has no hardware to fail or replace — there's no fine print to run into a year in.
One download covers every room
No separate base station purchase needed for the bedroom, the kitchen or the car.
Nothing to spend to find out if you need more
Test whether general-purpose amplification helps you before deciding a single-room device is enough, or too little.
Which one is actually right for you
Honest about what each one is good and not good for.
Your hearing loss needs professional fitting and care
Severe or profound loss, one-ear loss, or conductive or mixed loss needs a licensed provider. Go promptly if loss came on suddenly or you have ear pain, discharge, dizziness or ringing.
The television really is your whole problem
Its BBB record backs it up as a solid, inexpensive fix for one specific frustration — just know the free-replacement window is one year, not five.
Your struggle follows you out of the living room
Conversations, restaurants, work, the phone — anywhere a room-bound headset can't reach. Test it free first.
A ten-minute check before you buy either one
Do this to find out how big your actual problem is. 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
Not just the living room — the kitchen mid-cooking, or a café at lunch.
Judge it on one thing
Does it help outside the living room too? If yes, you've learned your problem is bigger than the TV.
FAQ: TV Ears reviews and alternatives
Is TV Ears actually a good product?
By the available evidence, yes. It's a BBB-accredited business with an A+ rating and only 2 complaints closed in the past 3 years — one of the cleaner records in this comparison series.
Does TV Ears help with anything besides the TV?
No. It's a wireless headset paired to a base station connected to your television. It doesn't help with conversations, restaurants, phone calls or any listening situation away from that specific TV.
Is the 5-year warranty as good as it sounds?
Partly. Per TV Ears' own terms, free replacement (at shipping and handling cost) is guaranteed only if the unit fails within the first year. A BBB complaint from October 2024 describes a customer whose unit failed after that window and was offered a paid battery rather than a free replacement.
How much does TV Ears cost?
The 5.0 Original System runs $129.95, per TV Ears' own site, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're unhappy with it.
Can an app replace a hearing aid or a TV-listening device?
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 general amplification helps you, 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 broader-purpose deviceOticon reviews & alternative
A prescription hearing aid built for all-day, anywhere use.
Compare other brands
Nuance Audio and Oticon sit at other points on the hearing-support spectrum, each with its 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.