This is a product that is advertised on television and my husband has a lot of trouble hearing conversations well out of his left ear, so we decided to order this and give it a try. The Sonic XL Deluxe Amplified Hearing Device as seen on TV says that you can hear sounds from up to fifty feet away and that you can use this hearing device outdoors to keep a closer watch on your children. Here is my review of this hearing device.
The Sonic XL Deluxe Amplified Hearing Device does do what it says it will as stated on the television ad, but there is a downside to the product that they do not talk about in the ad. The product is small and compact but is slightly larger than my Bluetooth device and fits on the ear just like the Bluetooth does. TheSonic XL Deluxe Amplified Hearing Device is black and silver and the ear clip is black and adjusts to fit the ear. On the upper left side, there is a high and low switch to control the velocity of sound and the off switch is located there as well. The device comes with three silicone ear tips which can be taken off to clean in between uses, one ear hook, two 30H, 40mAh rechargeable batteries, and one AC/DC adapter.
When you first receive the The Silver Sonic XL Deluxe, you must charge it up first which takes around twelve to fourteen hours. After charging, the hearing device will operate for approximately five hours before needing a recharge. The Silver Sonic XL comes packaged ready to fit on the left ear but can be changed to fit on the left ear. My husband said that he was never quite able to get the unit to fit properly on his ear. He said it continuously slipped around and he had to constantly place it back where he needed it to be to hear sounds. My husband first tested this unit while watching television and he said that it does work and does amplify the sound and that he was able to turn the volume down on the television and was still able to hear what was being said on the television. He then asked me to go into our bedroom and start talking to him. Normally I would have to speak very loud for him to hear what I was saying, but while he is wearing the The Silver Sonic XL Deluxe Unit, all I had to do was whisper and he heard me. It is at least 30 years away from our bedroom to our living room and he still heard me whisper, “I love you.
The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL Deluxe does work and does do what it says it will but there is a downside to this product. Using the unit inside works great, but if you use this outdoors, there seems to be too much other noises which interfere with the unit. You can hear birds chirping really good, but it sounds like they are sitting right on top of your head. Everything just does not sound normal when this unit is used outdoors. There is just so much more background noise from this unit if you do use this outdoors that it is impossible to make out what you are trying to hear. Using this product outdoors is useless.
The ads on television are for The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL and when you buy one you get one free. What the ad does not tell you is that this device they are advertising is not rechargeable and if you do not purchase the Silver Sonic XL Deluxe Model, that you will be buying replacement batteries every week. There is another part of the commercial that says to save money and purchase the Silver Sonic XL Deluxe, which comes with a charger.
When you use The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL Deluxe outdoors, there is quite a lot of static interference. It sounds like when you are talking on a cell phone outside on a windy day. There is so much interference with the other noises outside that you cannot hear conversations going on unless you are standing right next to the person. The amplified hearing sound is like surround sound on your television but the sound coming from The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL is muffled. It just sounds weird. The unit did not stay on my husband’s ear good, even after he adjusted the clip to fit his ear, it constantly slipped off and he would have to adjust it back on to his ear.
The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL Deluxe does pick up voices well from the television and you can hear someone talking really clear from another part of the house, but as far as this product being great for outdoor use, I would say no because of all of the static interference there is outside.
The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL Deluxe does do what it says it does, it amplifies sounds and if you do have trouble hearing conversations or the television, this would be great to use for that. This device seems to perform much better by using it indoors and if you want to eavesdrop on conversations if you are at home or inside of a store such as Wal-Mart. The bigger area you are in and trying to pick up sounds, the better off you will be by not wearing this device.
I give The Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL Deluxe 2 ½ stars. The Silver Sonic XL Deluxe is just not worth the money.
