Free Trial Hearing Aids: What State Law Requires and What the Seller Sets

Is a free trial the same as a return right?

Not quite. "Free trial" is a sales term; the laws below describe a right to return a hearing aid you have already paid for, with conditions. Three sources can set those conditions:

1. State law. Some states write a minimum return period into their codes. This page reads three: California, New York and Florida.
2. The seller's own policy. A seller can offer more than the law. California lets the retail seller specify any longer period than the one in its code.
3. The manufacturer, for over-the-counter (OTC) aids. The FDA rule on OTC labeling requires a notice of the manufacturer's return policy on the outside package. It does not set a trial length.

A free online hearing screening, a charity fitting or a loaner program is a different thing again: none of them is a return right. For aids at no cost, see free hearing aids.

What are the documented state return windows?

Three state codes, read in their current text, set different windows and different triggers.

• California: 45 days from the initial date of delivery. If the hearing aid is not initially fit for your particular needs, you may return it to the seller. The seller will either adjust or replace the hearing aid or promptly refund the total amount paid. The seller writes the delivery date into the warranty.
• New York: 45 calendar days from receipt. The buyer may cancel the purchase for any reason before midnight of the 45th calendar day and return the hearing aid in the same condition, ordinary wear and tear excluded. No hearing aid may be sold without a written money-back promise of that length.
• Florida: 30 days after receiving a prescription hearing aid. The seller must give written notice of the trial period. You may cancel for a valid reason, as defined by board rule, by returning the aid or by mailing written notice of cancellation to the seller.

The three rules differ on more than the number of days. California's answer can be an adjustment or a replacement, not only a refund. New York accepts any reason; Florida asks for a valid reason. Florida's text names prescription hearing aids only.

What fees and cancellation conditions remain?

A return under these laws is not always a full refund. Each code says what the seller may keep.

New York

• Standard seller: may retain up to ten percent of the total purchase price of the cancelled hearing aid, including batteries, cords and accessories, inclusive of all fees related to the aid.
• Licensed not-for-profit hospital or facility: may retain up to five percent of the total purchase price, plus a service fee of not more than two hundred dollars. If a second hearing aid was fitted and dispensed at the same time, that fee may not exceed three hundred dollars for both aids.

Florida

Board rules must provide that charges for earmolds and service provided to fit the prescription hearing aid may be retained by the licensee. The rules also set any reasonable cancellation fee. The terms, including the total amount available for refund, must be given to you in writing before you sign.

California

The code text read here names adjustment, replacement or a prompt refund of the total amount paid, with no retention percentage in that passage.

Before you buy, ask for the written return terms and find the line that states the refundable amount.

How can repairs affect the trial period?

Only one of the three codes read here pauses the clock for repairs: Florida.

1. If a prescription hearing aid must be repaired, remade or adjusted during the trial period, the period is suspended 1 day for each 24-hour period that the aid is not in your possession.
2. Once the seller notifies you that the aid is ready, you must claim it within 3 working days.
3. The trial period resumes on the day you reclaim the aid, or on the fourth day after the notice of availability, whichever comes first.

Keep the dates in writing: the day you hand the aid over, the day you are told it is ready and the day you collect it. Those three dates decide how many trial days you have left.

The California and New York passages read here state no comparable pause. A seller's policy may add one; ask for it in writing if your aid goes back for adjustment.

Does the federal OTC rule require a trial period?

No trial length appears in the FDA rule on over-the-counter hearing aid labeling. What the rule does require is a notice of the manufacturer's return policy on the outside package. That notice can describe the policy, or state that the manufacturer has none.

For a buyer, that means:

• Read the box before you open it. The package notice tells you whether the manufacturer takes returns.
• Check the store's policy too. A retailer can set its own return terms on top of the manufacturer's.
• Do not assume a state window applies. Florida's text covers prescription hearing aids. Whether another state's return law reaches an OTC aid is a separate legal question this page does not settle.

If you are comparing an OTC purchase with a prescription fitting, the return terms belong in the comparison next to the price.