While both products look and function like a Bluetooth® stereo headset, and also include fully customizable hearing amplification and noise reduction for live conversations, mobile phone calls, music play, and ambient sounds, AND clarify speech (and if needed during mobile phone calls, slow it down!), AND enhance music, there are four basic differences.

As opposed to BeHear NOW, BeHear ACCESS:

1. includes two telecoil receivers to deliver optimal sound in locations outfitted with induction loop technology.
2. has large, tactile buttons for easier operation (especially if dexterity is an issue).
3. comes with a magnetized charging cradle, as opposed to a direct USB cable which attaches to the neckband (also a usability issue).
4. is more expensive.

Yes. A long press on the middle button of the right-hand control box will toggle between “Telecoil” and “Personal Hearing” modes. Short presses in either of those modes will scroll through their options (Telecoil Exclusive and Telecoil Transparent in the “Telecoil” mode, and Indoor, Outdoor, Crowd, and Live Music in the “Personal Hearing” modes). Voice prompts after each click will announce the name of the current mode.

Additionally, you can choose any of the six above-mentioned hearing modes with a tap on the relevant icon in the “Home” menu of the W&H BeHear app.

1. The BeHear ACCESS headset is calibrated with a standard inductive loop transmitter as per the ANSI S3.22-2009 standard.
2. Signal levels can be adjusted based on the current environment using the headset’s volume control (either manually or via the free app we provide for iOS and Android smartphones).