Audien Atom Hearing Aid Review

Audien Atom is a discrete over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid offering manual volume adjustment and rechargeability. While Atom is relatively inexpensive, those interested in versatility and speech enhancement will want to explore other products.

Product Highlights

Drawbacks

Who is Audien Atom For?

• Minimalist, Minimal Activity, and Mild Hearing Boost - Atom hearing aids do not offer many features, adjustments, or advanced noise reduction. They are basic amplifiers with a single volume dial and are therefore best suited for those looking for a slight boost in clarity in quiet environments. 
• Tight budget - At $99 Atom are some of the cheapest rechargeable OTC hearing aids available. They are also the most cost effective hearing aid offered by Audien Hearing. 
• Do-It-Yourself Warrior - Atom can be purchased from Audien, or other online consumer electronics retailers, and shipped directly to your door. They do not require a prescription, doctor's visit, or hearing assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Audien Atom?

Audien Hearing is a manufacturer of personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) and over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. They focus on offering low-cost hearing solutions directly to consumers with a mild-to-moderate perceived hearing loss. Meaning, Audien hearing devices can be purchased online and do not require a hearing evaluation from an audiologist. For example, Atom hearing aids can be ordered directly from Audien’s website for $99.

Their product line currently includes two PSAPs, the EV1 and EV3. These devices are currently listed as hearing aids on Audien’s website though they are not FDA-registered. The Atom and Atom Pro however, are Audien’s latest products and are Class 1 FDA-registered hearing aids. While the components for all of their products come from China, Audien states that manufacturing and testing takes place in their Arizona based headquarters.

Unboxing Atom

In the box you will find two Atom hearing aids, a cleaning tool, wax filters, a cloth carrying case, a charger, USB-C cable with wall adapter, and user manuals. Atom will need to be charged before use with the included base; however, no other setup is required.

Audien Atom are relatively small in-the-ear (ITE) style hearing aids weighing in at just 1.9 grams. This is less than many other OTC and smart earbuds of the same style and lends to their lightweight feel in ear. Apple AirPods Pro 2 for example weigh over twice as much at 4 grams.

Comfort and Invisibility

Atom are relatively comfortable but I did not find the overall shape to be “ear-gonomic”. Both the left and right ear pieces are interchangeable having the same shape. While this may remove confusion for some users, I found it to compromise fit leaving the rear portion to protrude slightly from my ears. This is undesirable for those in search of a truly discreet hearing aid. It also seemed to reduce occlusion, at least in my ears, though various ear tips are included which can improve this depending on your preferences and needs. Retention and comfort were overall not a problem for me though some verified online reviews have noted retention issues—likely related with what has been discussed previously.

Limited Controls

Audien Hearing has included an on/off switch on their Atom hearing aids which can help reduce battery drain when not being worn as well as feedback during insertion.  Atom also has a small volume dial which can be adjusted with a flathead screwdriver. The end of the included cleaning brush can be used for this though other household tools will work if small enough. Atom have only one program so no other adjustments are available.

While simplicity has its benefits, manual adjustment of Atom hearing aid left me longing for wireless app control. The volume dial must be adjusted separately as the left and right hearing aids do not communicate wirelessly. Due to the size and nature of adjustment Atom must be removed from the ear to make a volume change. It can therefore take extra time to dial-in equal volume settings between devices.

While testing Atom for HearAdvisor™, different volume settings were needed for each Atom hearing aid to reach the same acoustic output. This suggests some variability between one Atom hearing aid and the next. Lastly, the dial is small which may be challenging for those with low vision and or dexterity issues.

I did not experience any issues once volume adjustments were set. The small volume dial also means you will not accidentally push it while inserting the hearing aids into your ear.

No Wireless Connectivity

Audien hearing products do not currently offer wireless connectivity such as Bluetooth streaming or remote phone App control. Those interested in these features may be interested in other in-the-ear style products such as Jabra Enhance Pro, Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus, or Sony CRE-E10. 

Power & Rechargeability

Atom hearing aids offer up to 20 hours of use from their lithium ion rechargeable battery. While we did not directly test this in the HearAdvisor™ lab, I did not experience any issues and the battery life always outlasted my testing needs. 

Atom can be charged by placing them in the included charging base. Remember to power the base with the USB-C cable and wall adapter. Atom magnetically lock into place and will take 4 to 6 hours to charge from a fully depleted battery. Audien Hearing included a nice feature in their Atom model where the devices automatically turn off while charging. This can help signal a good connection and also stops the annoying whistling, or feedback, that can happen when hearing aids are next to one another. Lastly, as Atom hearing aids are interchangeable they can be placed in either bay of the charger and an LED on the base will turn green when they are ready to go.

Lab Testing with HearAdvisor™

When tested in the HearAdvisor Lab, Audien Hearing’s Atom hearing aid showed some speech enhancement benefits in both quiet and noisy situations. The benefits were more pronounced in quieter settings and the hearing aids were found to have a less occluding fit which translates to a more natural voice quality when you speak. However, the speech enhancement benefits observed were limited and considerably less than average scores for other OTC and prescription devices.

Figure 1 shows how Atom compares to similar Amazon-sold hearing aids as well as the average score of professionally tuned Rx hearing aids. The differences observed can largely be attributed to poor high frequency gain—Atom hearing aids have a limited bandwidth offering little to no amplification above roughly 1500 Hz. This falls short of the 2000 to 4000 Hz region which is most important for speech clarity and intelligibility². Further, Atom does not appear to offer any advanced signal processing which can influence performance in louder noisy situations.

The Audien Atom Pro

Audien Hearing also offers the Atom Pro for $249, featuring a slightly smaller size and longer battery life. It does not seem to offer any improvements in sound processing or manual adjustments. There are also many off-brand products available online of similar price and quality. Figure 1 above names a few found on Amazon and compares their performance to the Audien Hearing Atom.

What Other Procucts Should I Consider?

Those interested in ITE style hearing devices with more advanced features can look to Apple AirPods Pro 2 ($199), Nuheara IQBuds2 Max ($499), Jabra Enhance Pro ($799), and the Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus ($799). All of these devices offer more advanced features such as wireless app control, audio streaming, and on-ear hearing assessments. They were also all tested by HearAdvisor™ and found to offer more benefit than the Atom. The Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus was recently awarded the 2023 HearAdvisor Expert Choice Award indicating that it was a top performer among the 40-some-odd devices tested in their lab.

One difficulty with all direct-to-consumer OTC products is knowing whether or not they are actually offering you benefit. It is always recommended that you visit a best-practices audiologist for this reason. Regardless, be sure to test any device as much as possible initially and get feedback from those around you to get a sense of the benefits you are receiving.

Final Thoughts on Audien Atom

The biggest drawback of Atom are the lack of adjustments and limited high-frequency amplification. I felt very restricted in my ability to adjust Atom as there is only a volume adjustment at my disposal to account for all the dynamic changes in a typical day. Furthermore, the lack of high-frequency amplification directly affects Atom’s ability to make speech clear.

Atom Hearing Aids are only $99, and for the low cost some individuals may find marginal improvements if they have a mild hearing loss and need a slight boost in quiet one-on-one situations. Outside of these circumstances it is unlikely that the benefits will warrant the expense. Atom are limited in their output, processing, and manual adjustments making them ill fit for dynamic situations and many hearing losses. Again, they were not found to offer significant speech enhancement benefits by HearAdvisor™.

Other devices offering a broader bandwidth, more advanced features, and wireless capabilities will be more capable of meeting the individualized needs of those with hearing loss. These products will come at a higher price, but nowadays there are many effective low-cost options available.