Despite the rise of competition in the over-the-counter hearing aid space, quality hearing aids remain stubbornly expensive. Top producers aren’t budging their premium prices, but they've quietly been introducing cheaper alternatives for consumers on a budget. Case in point is Jabra's Enhance Select 50R, the company’s entry-level model.

At first glance, the behind-the-ear 50R looks almost identical to Jabra’s other hearing aids, like the Enhance Select 300, but a closer examination reveals a few hardware changes, including a curvier, almost vintage design and a bit higher weight. At 2.94 grams, it’s nearly 0.4 grams heavier than Jabra’s flagship Enhance Select 500. A single button on the back of each hearing aid controls volume (volume up on the right, down on the left) and lets you cycle through the four preset environment programs.

Aside from its slight weight gain, the major differences are all under the hood, and primarily they amount to features available on the 300 and/or 500 that have been stripped out of this unit.

Gentle Boost

Sound processing tech is one of the biggest changes, as the 50R has a less sophisticated audio processor that lacks the spatial awareness you get with the Enhance Select 300 and 500. The 50R still has background noise reduction and speech prioritization features, but Jabra notes it is more suitable for quieter environments than loud ones.

The difference in audio quality between the 50R and 300 is noticeable, though it’s hardly profound. I’ve always admired the way Jabra’s hearing...