Hearing Aids for Children: What They Cost and Who Helps Pay

How much hearing aids cost for a child

The closest national figure comes from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Its May 2024 report on over-the-counter hearing aids, relaying a 2023 Hearing Journal article, says prescription hearing aids can range from $1,000 to $6,000 per pair, depending on the device's technology. That is a reported range for all ages, and GAO did not measure it itself.

The prescription category is the one that applies here. The FDA writes that "Hearing aids intended for people younger than 18 years of age are prescription hearing aids." The lower shelf prices on our over-the-counter page don't carry over, because 21 CFR 800.30 says: "Sale to or for a person younger than 18 years of age is prohibited."

A child-only average isn't available from the public claims data we hold. The federal Medicaid provider spending file publishes no age field, so what Medicaid paid for children can't be split from what it paid for adults, and we don't estimate it.

Ear molds are the line that comes back. The FDA's page on hearing aid types says ear molds "need to be replaced as a child grows." Billing code V5264 reads "Ear mold/insert, not disposable, any type," and Medicaid paid $51.87 per claim line on it nationally in 2023-2024. That amount covers all ages, and it shows one payer's side of a claim, so don't read it as a shop price. Other lines, from fitting to repairs, are on our hearing aids cost page.

A written quote gives you the real number for your child. Ask each seller:

• Is the price per aid or per pair?
• What does one new ear mold cost, and how many come with the aids?
• Which follow-up visits and adjustments are included, and for how long?
• Who pays for batteries, and what happens during a repair?
• Will you bill the child's plan or program first, and what is left for us?

If the balance is hard to carry, see payment plans and FSA rules.

Does Medicaid cover hearing aids for children?

For a child enrolled in Medicaid, the federal text names the device. The EPSDT benefit serves "children under age 21 who are enrolled in Medicaid." Medicaid.gov's page on vision and hearing services says EPSDT requires coverage of necessary treatment, including "hearing aids, replacement batteries, and cochlear implants, even if the services are not covered for adults."

Three details in that wording help a parent:

• Enrollment comes first. The rule attaches to a child enrolled in Medicaid. A child on a private plan falls under that plan's terms.
• Batteries are named. Replacement batteries sit in the same sentence as the aids, so ask about them when the aids are ordered.
• The age line matters. The text stops at "under age 21." Adult Medicaid rules differ by state, so ask early what changes at that birthday.

The benefit runs through each state. Medicaid.gov describes "appropriate, and medically necessary services," and says "States must arrange for treatment, and the treatment must be provided with reasonable promptness." Your state program or its managed care plan handles the request, so call it to learn which seller to use and what paperwork it wants. Our Medicaid coverage page sets out state rules and what Medicaid paid by code.

How much will insurance pay? Reading the Massachusetts law

On a private plan, the answer depends on the plan and the state. Massachusetts is a useful one to read, because its statute, Chapter 175, Section 47X spells out each condition. Paragraph (f) requires coverage "for any child, 21 years of age or younger, who is insured under the policy or fund," and everything that limits it sits close by:

• Which contracts. The paragraph names accident and sickness policies, blanket or general policies, and employees' health and welfare funds, each providing hospital and surgical expense benefits, and adds "any non-group policy." A plan outside those descriptions is outside this text.
• The cap. "1 hearing aid per hearing impaired ear up to $2,000 for each hearing aid." A family may choose a pricier aid and pay the difference, "without any financial or contractual penalty."
• The interval and the paperwork. Coverage repeats every 36 months, on a written statement from the child's treating physician that the aids are necessary.
• The services. Coverage includes "the initial hearing aid evaluation, fitting and adjustments and supplies, including ear molds," when prescribed by a licensed audiologist or hearing instrument specialist.
• Cost sharing. The benefit "shall not be subject to any greater deductible, coinsurance, copayments or out-of-pocket limits" than the insurer's other benefits. That wording leaves room for the plan's ordinary deductible and copays.

So $2,000 is a ceiling inside named contracts. It isn't a price, and it isn't what every Massachusetts family receives. Note the age wording too: this law says "21 years of age or younger," while EPSDT says "under age 21." Whatever state you live in, these five items make a good list of questions for your plan's member services line.

Other states set different ages, caps and programs

The age line runs from 18 or younger in Texas, through age eighteen in Georgia, and under eighteen in Tennessee, to New Mexico's under eighteen, or under twenty-one while still attending high school. Reset periods run from three years to 48 months.

The money differs as well. Georgia's text says up to $3,000 per aid, New Mexico's up to $2,200 per ear, and Tennessee's up to one thousand dollars per aid per ear. The Texas limit quoted in the table is a count: one hearing aid in each ear every three years.

Treat the readings differently. Texas is the current code. For Georgia, New Mexico and Tennessee we read the act as passed, so later amendments may have changed it. Our insurance coverage page covers more states and explains why a policy can sit outside a state rule.

Some help sits outside insurance. The Massachusetts Hearing Aid Program "pays for hearing aids for children from birth through age 21," and families must meet income requirements. California's HACCP offers coverage for eligible children and youth under 21 whose health insurance doesn't cover hearing aids, and supplemental coverage where it only covers up to $1,500 a year. The provider bills insurance first. Other programs, charities and their conditions are listed on our free hearing aids page.

What schools must do under IDEA

Schools enter through federal special education rules, which do a different job from health coverage. Two IDEA regulations matter here.

34 CFR 300.105(a) covers assistive technology. Each public agency must ensure that devices or services "are made available to a child with a disability if required as a part of the child's" special education, related services, or supplementary aids and services. "If required" is the condition, and it ties the duty to that child's program.

Home use has its own test. Under 34 CFR 300.105(b), a child's use of school-purchased devices at home or elsewhere is required on a case-by-case basis, "if the child's IEP Team determines that the child needs access to those devices in order to receive FAPE," meaning a free appropriate public education.

34 CFR 300.113(a) covers upkeep: "Each public agency must ensure that hearing aids worn in school by children with hearing impairments, including deafness, are functioning properly." The sentence speaks to aids working at school. It doesn't say who buys them.

For a family, the IEP Team is the place to raise both points: whether a device belongs in the child's program, and who checks that the aids work during the school day.