{"id":979,"date":"2019-10-18T11:07:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T18:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mayosis.com\/zipold\/?p=979"},"modified":"2023-06-29T19:55:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T19:55:14","slug":"beltone-hearing-aids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ziphearing.com\/blog\/beltone-hearing-aids\/","title":{"rendered":"Beltone Hearing Aids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Beltone name is as close to a household name in the hearing aid industry as any brand is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 1500 locations in the United States, Beltone is one of the industry\u2019s undisputed leaders in name recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But are Beltone hearing aids any good? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about their prices? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are their customers happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post we\u2019ll touch on the above topics and more, and give you some things to think about before buying hearing aids from Beltone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of Beltone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beltone\u2019s story dates back to the 1930s, when founders Sam and Faye Posen were unsatisfied with the hearing aid technology at the time and wanted to create a better solution for a friend with hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their goal- develop a personalized and miniaturized hearing aid so their friend could hear the music of life come through \u201cas clear as the tone of a bell\u201d- hence the name Beltone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1940, Beltone opened their first location in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Chicago-land based Beltone saw tremendous growth in the decades that followed, and today remains one of the industry\u2019s most recognizable names, with products sold in over 40 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who makes Beltone hearing aids?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beltone is owned by the Denmark-based GN Group<\/a>. The GN Group is a global leader in audio solutions, and is most well-known for the hearing aid brand ReSound<\/a>. Beltone hearing aids are made by ReSound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To oversimplify Beltone\u2019s business- perhaps the easiest way to understand Beltone is as a network of hearing aid stores (franchises), which sell ReSound hearing aids under the Beltone brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are Beltone hearing aids good?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Beltone hearing aid is a private labeled<\/a> ReSound hearing aid, and ReSound has an excellent worldwide reputation as a leader in hearing aid technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, ReSound has led the industry in Bluetooth hearing aid solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beltone and ReSound hearing aids are essentially the same products with different names. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both hearing aid brands share the same physical housing, but sometimes there are slight differences between the hearing aid features and fitting-algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationship between Beltone and ReSound is similar to that of Miracle Ear<\/a> (another nationwide chain of stores), and Signia (another leading manufacturer). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most popular Beltone hearing aid model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of August 2022, Beltone\u2019s most popular hearing aid is the Beltone Imagine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Beltone<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Beltone Imagine is a receiver-in-canal (RIC) style hearing aid, that can be powered by either a rechargeable battery, or a size 13 or 312 disposable battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ReSound lineup, The Beltone Imagine is most similar to the ReSound One<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the Beltone Imagine and ReSound One are state of the art hearing aids that are suitable for a wide range of hearing losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most notable feature of the Beltone Imagine, is it\u2019s innovative new receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The receiver<\/em> is the part of the hearing aid that goes into your ear canal, where the sound comes out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also think of this as a “speaker.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With traditional hearing aids, there are (2) microphones (that capture sound), on the back of the hearing aid, and they then direct the sound down into the ear canal, via the receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s new about this receiver, is for the first time ever in the hearing aid industry, the speaker itself also has an (optional), microphone, which means there are a total of (3) microphones on the Beltone Imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary benefit of adding this third microphone, is helping wearers localize the direction from which sound is coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about this new receiver, which Beltone calls “M&RIE” (microphone & receiver-in-ear), check out the video below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n