Free Hearing Test in Canada: Where It Costs Nothing and Where You Pay

Clinics that offer a free hearing test

In Canada, many hearing clinics offer a free hearing test, and each one writes its own terms. Here is what their pages said when we read them on November 3, 2026:

• HearingLife. Its booking page says free hearing assessments are available for adults (19+). Child assessments are offered at select clinics for a fee, written report fees may apply depending on the province, and the offer doesn't apply to industrial hearing tests.
• HearCANADA. The test at the first appointment is complimentary, "a value of up to $75," and it opens the chain's one-week hearing aid trial, which HearCANADA also calls free.
• Canadian Hearing Services. Tests are free for people 55 and older; under 55, there is a charge of $80. Fees may also apply for tests done for employment purposes, for reports or for application forms, and testing starts at age 5.

Before you book, ask whether the written report, a copy of your results or a follow-up visit is billed. HearingLife and Canadian Hearing Services both name report fees. HearCANADA writes that its free test carries no obligation to buy anything.

Free hearing test at Costco Canada

Costco Canada's terms forbid automated reading of its site, so its hearing aid pages were read by hand in a browser on November 3, 2026. They list hearing tests, follow-up appointments, cleaning and checks as free, and give a 180-day trial period for hearing aids.

Those pages show no hearing aid price in Canadian dollars, so this page doesn't print one. If you're comparing, ask the warehouse hearing aid centre for a written quote after the test. Our Costco hearing aids page covers Costco's offer in the United States.

What provincial health plans say about hearing tests

Whether a provincial plan pays for a hearing test depends on the province, and the four pages we read draw the line in different places:

• Nova Scotia. The health card page lists "hearing and speech services" among the services the MSI plan may cover.
• Saskatchewan. The province says there is a charge for hearing tests and hearing aids, whether you buy them through the health authority or a private clinic. They are a benefit for people covered by Supplementary Health Benefits (children and adults) or Family Health Benefits (children).
• Quebec. RAMQ gives an audiology consultation as an example of a service it doesn't cover, and notes that some services not covered in a clinic are covered in hospital. Its site refused our reader, so we used a Wayback Machine copy dated October 11, 2026.
• Ontario. OHIP's coverage page excludes health services delivered outside hospital by providers who are not physicians or practitioners prescribed under Ontario legislation. The page doesn't name audiologists, so ask the clinic how your test will be billed.

Alberta and British Columbia appear below for children only: the pages we read from those provinces cover newborn and child hearing services.

Free hearing screening for newborns and children

Two provincial sources say newborn hearing screening costs families nothing:

• Quebec says its newborn hearing screening is offered free to all newborns in Quebec.
• Alberta. The Alberta Health Services Early Hearing Detection and Intervention annual report for 2022-2023 says newborn screening is available free of charge to families at many hospitals and community screening sites. That is the period the report covers; ask Alberta Health Services for the current terms.

In British Columbia, HealthLink BC tells parents who have concerns about a child's hearing to contact their local public health hearing clinic for a referral, or to talk with their family health care provider. The page doesn't state a cost.

Among the clinics above, HearingLife charges a fee for child assessments at the select clinics that offer them, and Canadian Hearing Services tests from age 5. Our page on hearing aids for children covers what comes after a test in the United States.

Hearing tests for veterans

Veterans Affairs Canada's Audio Services policy (POC 3) says its audio services include hearing tests, the provision of hearing aids and hearing aid accessories, and the assistive devices and services listed in its audio services benefit grids.

The policy sets out who is eligible and what the grids cover; this page doesn't assess anyone's case. A veteran who already receives VAC health benefits can ask VAC how a hearing test is arranged and paid under the policy.