Census · Published 2026-10-17 · 60 answers · Claude with web search · recorded, not live

AI named a hearing aid brand in 55 of 60 answers. Jabra Enhance, in 45.

Six questions a shopper might type about over-the-counter hearing aids, each asked 10 times of Claude with web search: 60 answers. Jabra Enhance was named in 45, Eargo in 38 and Lexie in 35; five answers named none of the tracked brands. The full list of questions is further down.

Brand names here are measurement results, not recommendations.

One real answer, annotated

One of the 60 answers in this census. Recorded 2026-10-17, not live.

Question 1 of 6 · answer 2 of 10

What are the best over-the-counter hearing aids?

Claude with web search · recorded 2026-10-17 · not live

Jabra Enhance Select 50R/700 – Best overall. ~$1,195/pair, Bluetooth streaming, app-based remote adjustments by audiologists, strong noise reduction […]

[…] Lexie B2 Plus – Uses Bose hearing-aid technology, well-regarded sound quality, generally cheaper than Jabra/Eargo.

[…] If you want the single best all-around pick, go with Jabra Enhance […] If discretion matters most, Eargo is the better choice.

  • Jabra EnhanceBrandin 45 of 60 answers
  • Lexie, BoseBrandin 35 and 21 of 60 answers
  • EargoBrandin 38 of 60 answers
    Named first, then named again as the pick.Jabra Enhance: in 45 of 60 answers, more than any other brand.

Sources this answer cited

  • theseniorlist.comSenior product reviews, paid by commissions
  • hearingtracker.comHearing aid review and news site
  • soundly.comOnline hearing aid store
  • ncoa.orgNational Council on Aging, a nonprofit

Verbatim. […] marks a cut; bold and list marks dropped; no word changed. Marked: every brand name the census counts; “Jabra” on its own counts for Jabra Enhance. Bose is named here as the technology inside Lexie’s product; the census counts every brand name an answer gives, so it counts.

Named a brand

55 of 60

Five answers named none of the tracked brands.

Claude with web search · 60 answers

Named Jabra Enhance

45 of 60

The brand named most.

Claude with web search · 60 answers

Pointed to a health professional

58 of 60

An audiologist, a doctor or another health professional.

Claude with web search · 60 answers

Leaderboard

The names AI gave most

Bar: the range we would expect if the census ran again. Tick: what we saw. Top ten, plus any tied with the tenth.

  1. Jabra Enhance Brand In 45 of 60 · range 42 to 100%
  2. Eargo Brand In 38 of 60 · range 32 to 93%
  3. Lexie Brand In 35 of 60 · range 27 to 88%
  4. Elehear Brand In 28 of 60 · range 18 to 77%
  5. MDHearing Brand In 26 of 60 · range 15 to 70%
  6. Audien Brand In 25 of 60 · range 17 to 67%
  7. Bose Brand In 21 of 60 · range 13 to 58%
  8. Yeasound Brand In 17 of 60 · range 5 to 57%
  9. Sony Brand In 17 of 60 · range 12 to 47%
  10. Apple Brand In 11 of 60 · range 0 to 50%
  11. Sennheiser Brand In 11 of 60 · range 5 to 35%

Sources

The sites the answers were built from

The twelve domains cited most, grouped by what they are. Three were each cited in more than half the answers: hearingtracker.com, theseniorlist.com and ncoa.org. One is an event-planning domain now publishing product lists.

Review sites and forums

  • hearingtracker.comcited in 42 of 60 answersHearing aid review and news site
  • theseniorlist.comcited in 37 of 60 answersSenior product reviews, paid by commissions
  • forum.hearingtracker.comcited in 7 of 60 answersHearing aid user forum
  • techradar.comcited in 4 of 60 answersTech review publication

Clinics and nonprofits

  • ncoa.orgcited in 33 of 60 answersNational Council on Aging, a nonprofit
  • pindrophearing.co.ukcited in 5 of 60 answersIndependent audiology clinic, London
  • hearingassociateslv.comcited in 5 of 60 answersAudiology practice, Las Vegas

Health and news sites

  • healthline.comcited in 6 of 60 answersHealth information site
  • womensenews.orgcited in 5 of 60 answersWomen’s news site

Retailers

  • soundly.comcited in 11 of 60 answersOnline hearing aid store
  • miracle-ear.comcited in 4 of 60 answersHearing aid store chain

Off-topic sites

  • mayfairfarms.comcited in 9 of 60 answersEvent-planning site now publishing product lists

Cited in: the number of the 60 answers that linked the domain at least once. Types checked on each site’s own homepage on 2026-10-17.

Full table

Every name, every number

OTC hearing aids, 60 answers · engine: Claude with web search

60 answers across 6 questions at 10 repeats each, collected 2026-10-17. Engine: Claude with web search, through an internal research route (the Claude Code CLI, Sonnet); production audits use the Messages API.

Each row leads with a cluster-bootstrap range, which allows for the same question being asked again; the narrower Wilson range beside it assumes every answer is an independent draw. The method page explains why the bootstrap leads.

Narrow screen: scroll the table sideways for more columns.

n=60 answers · 6 questions, 10 repeats each · collected 2026-10-17 · engine: Claude with web search
Name Kind Share of answers (bar: bootstrap range, tick: observed) Wilson range (assumes independent answers) Average position when named (1 = first) In the first three names
Jabra EnhanceBrand

42 to 100% · 45 of 60

63 to 84%2.1335 of 60 (58%)
EargoBrand

32 to 93% · 38 of 60

51 to 74%4.479 of 60 (15%)
LexieBrand

27 to 88% · 35 of 60

46 to 70%3.4022 of 60 (37%)
ElehearBrand

18 to 77% · 28 of 60

35 to 59%2.5723 of 60 (38%)
MDHearingBrand

15 to 70% · 26 of 60

32 to 56%4.3510 of 60 (17%)
AudienBrand

17 to 67% · 25 of 60

30 to 54%5.763 of 60 (5%)
BoseBrand

13 to 58% · 21 of 60

24 to 48%3.7611 of 60 (18%)
YeasoundBrand

5 to 57% · 17 of 60

19 to 41%3.3510 of 60 (17%)
SonyBrand

12 to 47% · 17 of 60

19 to 41%4.655 of 60 (8%)
AppleBrand

0 to 50% · 11 of 60

11 to 30%1.6410 of 60 (17%)
SennheiserBrand

5 to 35% · 11 of 60

11 to 30%4.913 of 60 (5%)
Best BuyStore brand

0 to 43% · 9 of 60

8 to 26%4.442 of 60 (3%)
OtofonixBrand

0 to 23% · 5 of 60

4 to 18%6.400 of 60 (0%)
CVS HealthStore brand

0 to 22% · 4 of 60

3 to 16%5.250 of 60 (0%)
AudicusBrand

0 to 18% · 4 of 60

3 to 16%5.251 of 60 (2%)
PhonakBrand

0 to 7% · 1 of 60

0 to 9%8.000 of 60 (0%)
3FPBrand

0 to 7% · 1 of 60

0 to 9%10.000 of 60 (0%)
BATSTRKSBrand

0 to 7% · 1 of 60

0 to 9%11.000 of 60 (0%)
SUVABrand

0 to 7% · 1 of 60

0 to 9%12.000 of 60 (0%)
Kirkland SignatureStore brand

0% · 0 of 60

0 to 6%Not named0 of 60 (0%)
WalgreensStore brand

0% · 0 of 60

0 to 6%Not named0 of 60 (0%)

Store brands are counted by name here. Reading each mention for whether it names a product to buy, as the pain relief census did, is still to come.

In every health category

We measure and source. We do not write, edit or suggest any statement about what a product does; that stays as your label states it.

Brand names in our censuses are measurement results, not recommendations.

Method

The questions asked

  1. What are the best over-the-counter hearing aids?
  2. Are AirPods good enough as hearing aids, or should I buy real ones?
  3. Best hearing aids without a prescription for mild hearing loss?
  4. Which affordable hearing aids are worth buying in 2026?
  5. Should I buy hearing aids online or go to an audiologist?
  6. Best rechargeable OTC hearing aids for seniors?

How each question is run, counted and checked: the method page.

Log

Corrections

  • 2026-10-17: first publication.

The census

Other censuses

Published 2026-10-17

Pain relief and headache

Six questions: five on pain and headache, one on seasonal allergies.

AI named a brand in 120 of 120 answers. A store-brand product, in 1.

Each square is one answer; filled: named a store-brand product.

120 answers · Claude with web search

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Dandruff

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See what was asked
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Sleep supplements

Six questions: magnesium, melatonin, gummies, a habit-free option and what doctors recommend.

AI named melatonin in 40 of 60 answers. The top brand, Thorne, in 18.

Each square is one answer; filled: named a brand, a maker’s or a store’s.

60 answers · Claude with web search

Read the census

Mechanical keyboards

Where the method started: six questions, two engines, every count and source. Keychron named in 14 of 18 answers on Claude and 14 of 18 on Gemini.