Anker announces its first over-the-counter hearing aids

Details are slim, but we know they’ll use the Thus chip, which provides excellent vocal quality.

Details are slim, but we know they’ll use the Thus chip, which provides excellent vocal quality.

In what could be fortuitous timing for hearing aid users, Anker announced its first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids at IFA 2026. It was only a couple months ago when LXE Hearing, the parent company for Eargo and Lexie Hearing — two major OTC manufacturers in the US — decided to end US operations and exit the OTC hearing aid market . Now perhaps Anker can fill that void.

The receiver-in-canal (RIC) design has a main body that rests behind the ear. It uses Anker’s Thus chip, announced in April and first released in the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds series. The chip delivers the best voice isolation I’ve ever heard on any audio product and could be an incredible boon for the hearing aids.

Anker’s RIC hearing aids use four beam-forming microphones to focus on who the user is speaking to in front of them. They get up to 12 hours of use (up to 36 hours with the case) and gain two hours of use with a five-minute fast charge — Anker claims this is the quickest fast charge among its competitors.

There aren’t any additional details about exact models or US availability and pricing, but we should know more by the end of the year.