Quick Answer: The Jabra Enhance Select 500 — Jabra’s flagship OTC hearing aid since May 2024 — has been superseded by the Jabra Enhance Select 700 (September 2025) and no longer appears on jabraenhance.com. It was a genuinely excellent device: an “A” SoundGrade from the independent lab HearAdvisor, ranking in the top 5% of all hearing aids tested, with a 30-hour battery, IP68 rating, and Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast. But here’s the math that settles it: the Select 700 currently sells for $1,695/pair on sale (regularly $1,995) — exactly what the Select 500’s basic package cost — so for new buyers there’s no reason to hunt down leftover 500 stock unless it’s deeply discounted. Existing Select 500 owners keep their 3-year warranty and remote audiology support.
If you searched for the Select 500, you probably saw it at the top of a “best OTC hearing aids” list — it earned that spot, and it topped our own Jabra hearing aids review for most of its run. This page covers what the Select 500 actually offered, why Jabra retired it after only 16 months, what the Select 700 changes, and how to decide between the current lineup and remaining old stock.
Jabra Enhance Select 500, by the numbers
- Top 5% of all devices tested — the Select 500 earned an “A” SoundGrade from HearAdvisor, the independent acoustics lab whose rankings are used across the hearing industry, and HearingTracker scores it 4.3/5.
- 16 months — the Select 500’s run as flagship: introduced May 2024 (per HearingTracker), superseded by the Select 700 in September 2025. Jabra’s OTC line tracks parent company GN’s clinic platforms, so flagships turn over fast.
- $1,695 = $1,695 — the Select 700’s current sale price (regularly $1,995, per jabraenhance.com as of July 2026) matches the Select 500’s old basic-package price to the dollar.
- 30 hours of battery per charge, with a charging case holding roughly three extra charges — a spec the Select 700 matches at 30+ hours.
- ~$3,000 per pair is the average out-of-pocket cost of traditional prescription hearing aids per the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) — the context that made the Select 500, and now the 700, a value story despite the four-figure price.
What the Select 500 was — and why people still search for it
Jabra Enhance Select 500 (superseded September 2025)
- "A" SoundGrade from HearAdvisor — top 5% of all hearing aids the lab has tested.
- Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast broadcast support, plus Made for iPhone (MFi) and Android (ASHA) streaming and hands-free calling.
- 30-hour rechargeable battery, IP68 dust and water resistance — the highest ingress rating available on hearing aids.
- Sold with a 100-day risk-free trial, 3-year warranty, and remote care from licensed audiologists — support Jabra continues to honor for existing owners.
If you’re replacing a lost charger or stocking up on domes and wax guards for a Select 500 you already own, two-day shipping beats a two-week clinic order — try Amazon Prime free for 30 days to get your hearing devices and accessories in two days.
The Select 500 mattered because it was the first Jabra Enhance OTC model built on GN’s Nexia-generation platform — the same core technology inside ReSound’s clinic hearing aids — and it brought Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast to the online-OTC price bracket. Auracast is the emerging broadcast-audio standard that lets venues like theaters and airports stream sound directly to compatible hearing aids, and in 2024 almost nothing at this price had it. Combine that with true hands-free calling on both iPhone and Android and the strongest lab scores in Jabra’s lineup, and it’s no mystery the model still pulls searches a year after it left the shop page.
Why it disappeared after 16 months
Jabra Enhance is owned by Denmark’s GN Group, the same parent behind ReSound and Beltone, and its OTC flagships shadow ReSound’s clinic releases roughly a year behind. The Select 500 was the OTC echo of ReSound Nexia; when ReSound launched the Vivia platform in 2025, the OTC refresh followed in September 2025 as the Enhance Select 700, which per HearingTracker shares its processing platform with the Vivia and adds SoundScape with Auto Focus — Jabra’s new adaptive noise-reduction system for speech in noisy rooms — in a smaller micro-RIC shell weighing about 2.12 grams per aid.
That’s the pattern to understand before you buy any online flagship: the hardware cycle is now annual-ish, but the care bundle is what you’re really paying for. Every Enhance Select purchase — 500 then, 700 now — includes the 100-day trial, 3-year warranty, and 3 years of virtual audiology follow-up, and those obligations survive the model’s retirement. (Per our hearing aid repair guide, Jabra Enhance’s loss-and-damage coverage carries a $195-per-aid deductible — worth knowing whichever model you own.)
Select 500 vs. the current 2026 lineup
Prices verified on jabraenhance.com, July 2026. All models include the 100-day trial, 3-year warranty, and 3 years of virtual audiology care.
| Model | Status | Platform generation | Battery | Bluetooth | Price (pair) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enhance Select 500 | Superseded (Sept 2025) | Nexia-gen | 30 hrs, IP68 | LE Audio + Auracast, hands-free iOS & Android | Was $1,695–$1,995 |
| Enhance Select 700 | Current flagship | Vivia-gen, SoundScape Auto Focus | 30+ hrs, IP68 | LE Audio, hands-free iOS & Android | $1,695 sale (reg. $1,995) |
| Enhance Select 300 | Current mid-range | Prior-gen | Rechargeable | Streaming iOS & Android | $1,695 |
| Enhance Select 50R | Current entry | Prior-gen | Rechargeable | Media streaming | $1,195 |
Note the odd overlap: with the limited-time $300 discount, the Select 700 and Select 300 currently cost the same $1,695. While that sale holds, the 700 is the obvious pick of the two — you’re getting the Vivia-generation processor and the smallest housing at the mid-range price. If the sale ends and the 700 returns to $1,995, the 300 becomes the sensible value again, and the Select 50R at $1,195 remains the cheapest way into Jabra’s audiologist-backed care bundle.
Should you buy a leftover Select 500?
Only if the price is right, and it usually isn’t. Run the checklist:
- Is it under ~$1,200? At $1,695 the Select 700 is a newer platform for the same money. A leftover 500 has to beat that by a wide margin — think Select 50R territory — to be rational.
- Is the seller authorized? Jabra Enhance’s 100-day trial and 3-year warranty attach to purchases from jabraenhance.com. A marketplace listing from a random third party may carry neither, and hearing aids are not a category to buy support-naked — as our repair guide shows, out-of-warranty fixes commonly run $150–$400.
- Do you already own 500s? Then relax — nothing changes. Your warranty and remote care continue, replacement receivers and accessories remain available, and there is no need to upgrade until your devices or your hearing change.
This is the same “wind-down math” we applied when Sony discontinued its CRE line in April 2026 (see our Jabra vs Sony comparison) — with the difference that Jabra Enhance as a brand is very much alive; only the model turned over.
What to buy instead in 2026
For the Select 500’s exact use case — full-featured streaming, best-in-class sound, remote audiologist care — the Jabra Enhance Select 700 is the straightforward answer at $1,695 on sale. It leads the field in our best OTC hearing aids and best Bluetooth hearing aids roundups’ territory: same 100-day trial, same 3-year warranty, newer processor, smaller shell.
If four figures is the problem, the Lexie B2 Plus Powered by Bose ($999/pair) is the strongest sub-$1,000 self-fit package, and our best hearing aids under $1,000 guide maps the rest of that bracket. If invisibility is the priority, the Eargo 8 ($2,699) covered in our best invisible hearing aids guide goes where no RIC can. And per the NIDCD, about 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from hearing aids while fewer than a third of over-70s who could benefit have ever used them — whichever model you land on, buying something with a real trial window beats another year of turning the TV up.
Who should NOT buy an OTC hearing aid
OTC hearing aids — the Select 500, the 700, and everything else in this article — are FDA-regulated for adults 18+ with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss. See a hearing professional first if any of these apply:
- Your hearing loss is severe, came on suddenly, or affects one ear only — start with our severe hearing loss guide and a medical check.
- You have ear pain, drainage, or suspected impacted earwax.
- Your tinnitus is pulsing or one-sided — see a doctor before buying anything.
The bottom line
The Jabra Enhance Select 500 was one of the best OTC hearing aids ever tested — HearAdvisor’s “A” grade and top-5% ranking are rare air — but its 16-month flagship run is over, and the Select 700 replaced it at the same effective price. Buy the 700 at $1,695 while the sale lasts, drop to the Select 50R at $1,195 if budget rules, and treat leftover 500 stock as a deal only well under $1,200 from an authorized seller. For the wider field, see our best hearing aids ranking and full Jabra hearing aids review, or browse Jabra Enhance devices and accessories on Amazon.