Bargain: Auracast hearing aids for under £600 thanks to Yeasound RIC800 brings the new Bluetooth tech to over-the-counter ears

A new budget hearing aid has been launched, and it comes with Auracast as standard.

The Yeasound RIC800 OTC hearing aid is a buck under $800 (£594) … and currently with a special launch price of $699 (£519.99) – plus tariffs, taxes and shipping. That is considerably cheaper than many hearing aids, but it is a medical-grade rather than a fitted device. And this may be the clincher for those who need a hearing aid to be fine-tuned for a custom fit.

It does come with a 45-day trial period, and the company says ‘love it or get a full refund’.

The Yeasound RIC800 is IPX8 waterproof, meaning it can withstand immersion in up to 1 metre of water for at least 30 minutes. Not that we would like to try. The X indicates that it has not been tested for dust-proofing.

Among its features is AI-powered noise reduction and an auto-adapt mode. This should give clear and precise speech, up to 23% better, the website claims. Yeasound’s website states that the aids feature dual microphones with deep noise reduction, which amplifies what matters and suppresses the rest.

In quiet environments, it promises 360º immersive sound for natural awareness, while in noisy environments, it closes to just 60º, allowing it to offer effective noise cancellation.

“Crystal-clear conversations in any environment” is the claim on its website.

Another benefit is a gentle sound option designed to provide relief from Tinnitus.

Battery life is reportedly 31 hours on a single charge, and the charging case provides three full charges of 100 hours each.

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Included in the set is a charger case, two hearing aids, a USB cable, a set of ear domes, a receiver wire sizing tool, wax guards, a cleaning brush and a user guide.

To customise the sound settings, people need to download an app to their iPhone or Android device.

Yeasound says the aids have won the 2025 Expert Choice award from Hear Advisor, at the time of writing we cannot find this review to link to. As this is a new hearing aid, it is likely that Hear Advisor’s website has not been updated yet.

Last year’s model, the RIC700 was given this honour, achieving a SoundGrade of A to sit within the top 30% of all aids tested.

But our interest is in the Yeasound RIC800’s Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast capabilities.

Auracast in the Yeasound RIC800

The Yeasound RIC800 has a dedicated page to outline is support for Auracast.

It points out that when one chip is used for sound amplification and Bluetooth users can get flat-sounding music and unstable streaming once the phone is out of range.

Yeasound says that its Yeasound RIC800 has a dual-chip setup with one chip dedicated to Bluetooth connectivity of up to 10 metres, which means people can move around the home.

Another advantage of using two chips is that ambient sounds, such as a doorbell, can still be heard.

The Bluetooth also supports Apple iPhone Made for IPhone standard, and Android’s ASHA.

However, we have not tried these hearing aids, and note that there are conflicting messages on the website about Auracast. The support page states that it does have Auracast, but another blog page indicates that it supports Bluetooth LE Audio, the underlying technology that will enable Auracast. This isn’t as explicit, and we encourage companies to put Auracast front and centre of their descriptions on their website, etc, so people know what they are getting.

HearingTracker.com has a good overview of the Yeasound RIC800 here. In it, it says the RIC800 is one of the first OTC devices to integrate Auracast.

We do recommend subscribing to HearingTracker.com’s YouTube channel – Matthew Allsop gives a thorough review, which we have shared above.

Where can we find out more about the Yeasound RIC800?

Currently, we cannot find a UK supplier for the Yeasound RIC800. The website only allows for shipping to the US, which is a shame, especially as we’d love to try these out.

The company does say that taxes and shipping are calculated at checkout.

For more details, log on to: https://www.yeasound.com/products/yeasound-ric800-otc-hearing-aids