When plural of innovation in the counter hearing aid market is all about the latest in-ear designs, a new brand called Yeasound is proving that there is still life in the traditional behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid space. The company is new, but it is actually a subsidiary of Yealink, a Chinese telecommunications manufacturer that has been making audio equipment and phones for 25 years.
Yeasound BTE hearing aids come in two versions. I tested the advanced model of the RIC800, which includes AI-powered noise reduction, an automatic voice-focusing system, and support for Android as well as iOS. (RIC700 is compatible with Apple only.)
Photo: Chris Null
The units otherwise look identical and even weigh the same; I weighed one unit at 2.76 grams, which is slightly heavier than some of my BTE hearing aids, such as Jabra Upgrade Select 700. Physical controls are limited to two buttons on the back of each unit. These are mainly used for volume control (independent of each ear) but can also be used to interact with the phone via a streaming connection.
Audiogram on board
ScreenshotiYeasound software via Christopher Null
The first stop for many users will be the iYeasound mobile app, which offers a simplified home screen that puts all the essentials front and center. An in-app listening test sets the stage for how the frequency is adjusted. I rather enjoyed Yeasound’s hearing test, which is accelerated compared to others on the market. Although the test works in the same way, delivering sounds of different frequencies and sounds to each ear, it avoids long and unnecessary pauses between each test, so you can complete the entire test in about five minutes instead of 10 or more. Results are plotted on a traditional audiogram by generation; my results were a little messier than my audiogram suggests, but they were close enough for an OTC product and an informal, at-home test. Unfortunately, if you already have an audiogram on hand, it cannot be imported, and Yeasound test results cannot be edited apart from taking another test.
Once the hearing test was done and my audiogram uploaded, I was ready to start using Yeasound in earnest.
The app’s main screen offers five ambient modes: Dynamic, General, Noise, Music and Outdoor, all of which are largely self-explanatory. Volume controls for each ear appear below the mode selector. You won’t find any noise-cancelling options here, though. For those you need to dig into the Sound Tuning system, which is unique to each of the five modes except Adaptive. Here you can adjust roughly the low, mid, and high frequencies (though nothing is optimized beyond that), select one of three levels of noise reduction, and choose between using the omnidirectional microphone, forward mode, and hyperfocus mode.
ScreenshotiYeasound software via Christopher Null
Adaptive mode is where the RIC800’s AI features come into play, and when you enable it you leave all the extra controls mentioned above, with volume adjustment the only thing on offer. This sounds liberating, but I preferred to use the General mode most of the time, with my manual correction being more effective than the algorithm, especially after pushing the noise cancellation to its maximum. This mode had a bit of hiss—a problem seen in Dynamic mode when the volume is turned up—and felt a little underpowered, especially when testing with closed ear tips. With open ear tips, the two methods were about drawing. (Open, closed and hybrid tips are included in the box in various sizes so you can experiment with them.)
Overall, I found the units’ audio support to be good if not perfect. The mid-range often felt a little muddy and compressed, a problem that extended to a lesser degree to the low-frequency tones. Noise cancellation was surprisingly good, however, and the units could be pushed to very high levels without introducing significant distortion.
