Audien is an online hearing aid vendor. Audien Hearing Aids have been rated #1 among audiologists, according to the official website. Unlike conventional hearing aids, Audien powers on a rechargeable battery and has a price tag of only $89.
Image: Audien Hearing
Audien – The Brand
Audien Hearing claims to be an American company, but the official website does not provide a physical address, only the phone number (205) 255-1112. A Google search rendered the physical address 10733 N Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, Ste 103, Scottsdale, AZ 85259.
Image: Arizona E-Licensing
A business search via Arizona’s E-Licensing business search did not render results for Audien Hearing.
Not BBB-Accredited
Audien Hearing is not registered with accredited by the BBB. However, it does have an “F” BBB rating and 123 BBB complaints filed over the last 12 months. The customer complaints are regarding background noise, poor customer service, malfunctioning hearing aids, $99-restocking fee, non-deliveries, unauthorized credit card charges, and family-owned claims.
Image: BBB
Audien Hearing’s BBB complaint responses are very unprofessional, calling out customers for calling their company a scam and rating them 1-star.
Alibaba Look-A-Like
The Audien EV1 and Audien EV3 share many of the same features as the Alibaba selection, all of which are more affordable and referred to as “hearing amplifiers” not hearing aids.
Stock Images
Another red flag is the website’s images, which are on various websites. For example, the golf image with three males celebrating is from the official PGA website. The “Virtually Invisible” image can be found on the official Oticon Hearing Aid website.
Image: Audien Hearing
Image: PGA Website
Even the “How It All Began” image is a Google stock image.
Image: Audien Hearing
Image: Google Stock Image
The image utilized as a part of a testimonial “Michael H.” is also stolen. The gentleman is not Michael H. but Gregory R. Wagner, a Century Foundation contributor. Last, but not least, the testimonial image deemed “Cheryl M.” is a Shutterstock image.
Image: Audien Hearing
Image: Oticon Hearing Aids
It is possible some of the images were purchased by Audien Hearing, but the likelihood is extremely low.
Image: Audien Hearing
Image: The Century Foundation
Image: Audien Hearing Aids
Image: Shutterstock
Afterword – Audien Hearing Aids Scam
Is Audien Hearing Aids a scam? The website is filled with questionable images, its “F” BBB rating, and unprofessional responses its 123 BBB complaints are red flags. There are several Alibaba, Aliexpress, and Amazon hearing aid replicas, none of which are exact.
According to a BBB complaint, Audien Hearing charges a $99-restocking fee, which is unheard of in e-commerce. Some vendors will charge a 15% restocking fee, but $99? The website claims Audien Hearing is based in the United States, but an Arizona government business search did not validate this claim.
Nayzayerz previously reviewed another hearing aid vendor known as Nano Hearing Aids, which had 647 BBB complaints regarding the same issues. The legitimacy of these websites is definitely questionable.
American consumers need to ban together and demand FTC do its job. Protecting American consumers from online fraud should be the agency’s number one priority.
BBB needs to join forces with FTC to eliminate the thousands of fraudulent websites taking advantage of our most vulnerable consumers. These are not companies, they are individual or a group of scam artists. Just shameful this behavior of permitted to continue without FTC intervention.
The Audien EV3 hearing aid is the worst hearing aid i ever owned and i have owned many. First off you have to adjust the volume with a screw driver with it out of your ear. When i bought mine it clearly showed in the video a volume button that you can turn up or down while in your ear (that’s the only way to get it right). As far as their 30 day money back guarantee, that is as useless as the hearing aid itself. I emailed customer service the day i got it and told them i was not at all happy with the hearing aid, only to be ignored. I also complained on Facebook where they blocked me from commenting. on a scale of 1 to 10 i give the hearing aid a 0 and as far as their guarantee i also give a 0. The customer service i give it the same rating a 0. Everything about this company is based on deception. They take your money and ignore unsatisfied customers. Do NOT buy from them
This is very a common practice among these unofficial vendors. It appears, they alter images from products posted on Alibaba and AliExpress to make them look unique. Of course, the consumer never receive the “exact” product, but instead, the Chinese-manufactured cheap knockoff. This is not saying that all Chinese companies produce horrible products, but the majority of them do. As far as the vendor, he/she is most likely based in India. Asian Indians have taken over the online scam world. The FDA, PayPal, Google, Facebook, Amazon, or SEC are not taking the appropriate action to protect the American consumer. But, this is to be expected, since China owns the Internet.
I just ordered An Audien rechargeable hearing aid and pray it is all it is cracked up to be on the ads. At this price, don’t expect much, but am waiting to see. Hopefully, there are some satisfied customers. Pray I may be amongst them, am 81 and live on a fixed income, so can’t afford to waste money on scams. Used my Amex card as they stand behind purchases that not valid.
Thanks for sharing your story. We hope everything turns out for you and your Audien hearing aid works out for you. Good Luck!
They don’t have time, they are busy censor free speech
Audien hearing aids are not good.
The first time I bought them they did not have a ear piece and the second time I brought them the plug in can not fit the hearing aid correctly. Keep your money
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
I purchased Audien in hopes that they would replace the hearing aid I lost removing my mask. It was an arduous task adjusting them so that they would not ‘scream’ but I finally could wear them, except when a passenger in a car, responding to the driver was difficult because the engine noise of the car dominated, so conversations were impossible with all the background noise being picked up by the hearing aids. I think I had them a couple of months; faithfully recharged them every night, happy to see the red light switch on and then turned to green. Suddenly that stopped and when I went to recharged the green light came on, but no recharging happening, so I returned them and a replacement was sent. One is still working, the other hearing aid is not recharging, always the green light. I am back to returning them. So I will see how they respond.
Thanks for sharing, good luck. Keep us updated.
Well…wish I had reviewed these comments before I bought…having just received and am going through all problems mentioned here… Customer service is a joke… “leave a “positive ” review to get10 bucks credit on your “next purchase”…!! Beware …
Thanks for sharing your experience with Nayzayerz viewers. You can always file a claim, clicking on “item not as described” to get a refund. You will have to ship the hearing aid back to the vendor, but at least, you would get a partial refund and wipe your hands free of this piece of scrap metal.
I bought mine a year ago. Within the first week one of the hearing aids quit. I talked to customer service, they said send them back and they would replace them. I sent them back and within a week a new pair arrived. I have not had another problem with the company. The hearing aids however will not stay in my ears. I think my ear canal is smaller than their smallest adapter. Another problem is they amplify everything so it is still difficult to understand words. I have tinnitus and 60 % hearing loss in both ears. I too am on a fixed income and paying $3000 for a set of hearing aids is out of the question but the two hundred dollar hearing aids are better than nothing.
Thanks for sharing your story with our viewing audience.
I cannot agree with many of these comments. I am on my third set of Audien Hearing Aids, recently purchasing their latest model. My medical plan gives me a free hearing checkup every year and I have used this facility on three occasions – all of which lead to a sales meeting trying to set me up with a $6,000 pair of hearing aids, of which my medical plan will pick up about $1,000. I am not deaf, but need clarity and volume. I have tried many cheap hearing aids and have found that the Audien models have proven to be the best. They satisfy my current hearing requirements. I have three sets, because I have purchased newer models and I also pay $4 per month for warranty service, which they honor with no trouble. When a hearing aid fails it is a simple procedure to return and receive a new pair – the rechargers have not failed. I have friends that have expensive hearing aids and their experiences are not always good. I have tried of hearing devices like the apple hearing buds and Nuhera and Pioneer and none of them have functionally equalled the Audien product. I am well aware that the business may not be all that is shown on their website, but the product speaks for itself and I cannot complain about the service – I deal with them via email and hear ack in one or two days.
Every consumer’s experience is unique. While it worked for you, it has not worked for other consumers. Thanks for sharing!
Hi I just received my hearing aids/amp and already having problems with customer support. The audienhearing .com/surprise web page for the complementary extended lifetime warranty doesn’t exist. I called customer support and was hung up on twice. I will try again, I hope this purchase was not a mistake. I will continue my review with follow up on my outcome.
Do not wait too long to request a refund or chargeback. The Feds need to investigate Audien Hearing. Thanks for review
Do NOT buy them! They are worthless!
Thanks for input!