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Hearing Aids: Styles, Cost, Who Pays and Where to Buy

A hearing aid is a small electronic device worn in or behind the ear, in NIDCD's words. GAO reported $1,000 to $6,000 a pair for prescription models and around $200 to over $1,000 for over-the-counter ones. Original Medicare does not pay; VA care, Medicaid rules and many Medicare Advantage plans can.

Cost and coverage research team

Figure 1

Who pays for hearing aids

Who pays for hearing aids
Original Medicare Medicare.gov marks hearing aids and fitting exams as not covered All costs
Medicare Advantage 94.6% of 5,599 plan segments filed a prescription hearing aid benefit for 2026 Set by the plan. Among 1,056 plan segments with a per-ear yearly cap, the median cap is $750, which is a coverage limit and not a device price
Medicaid, under age 21 The federal EPSDT benefit names hearing aids among minimum hearing services Ask your state Medicaid program
Medicaid, age 21 and older Written by each state: Washington's rule can cover adult monaural aids, Alabama limits hearing aids to EPSDT-eligible people Depends on the state rule
VA health care Recommended and fit aids, as long as you keep VA eligibility for care No charge for the aids, repairs and future batteries
Federal employee plans Set by each plan One 2026 brochure, Blue Cross Blue Shield Standard and Basic, limits adults to $2,500 every 5 calendar years
Private or employer insurance Set by the policy; state insurance laws can apply to insured plans Check the policy and your state insurance department
FSA, HSA or tax deduction The IRS counts a hearing aid, batteries, repairs and maintenance as a medical expense You pay, then use the account or deduction under its own limits
How to read these numbers (1)
  • Rows summarize published rules and CMS plan filings. A cap is a plan limit and not a device price. Confirm your own eligibility with the program or plan.
Source:

What a hearing aid is, and the three basic styles

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) describes a hearing aid as "a small electronic device that you wear in or behind your ear." It names three basic styles:

  • Behind the ear: a hard plastic case behind the ear, connected to an earmold that fits inside the outer ear.
  • In the ear: a unit that fits completely inside the outer ear.
  • Canal: a smaller unit that fits into the ear canal, in two versions.

NIDCD says the styles differ by size and placement, among other things, and that style and features affect cost. So the shape you pick shows up in the quote, and it is worth asking for the price of more than one style.

Prescription or over the counter: which group you can buy from

US rules split hearing aids into two groups, and the split decides where you can shop. FDA says people aged 18 or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss can buy over-the-counter (OTC) aids in a store or online, with no medical exam, prescription or fitting adjustment by an audiologist. People under 18, or with more severe hearing loss, need a prescription or other order from a person licensed in their state.

Prescription aids are sold only through a licensed hearing health care professional, who programs the device. FDA itself requires no medical exam or hearing test for them, but your state may require a visit to an audiologist or other licensed professional first.

FDA's device identifier database shows how differently sized the two catalogs are. At its October 2026 update it held 60,681 entries under FDA's prescription code for wireless air-conduction aids and 7,442 under its prescription code for air-conduction aids. The three OTC codes held 672 (wireless), 660 (air-conduction) and 125 (self-fitting). These are device identifiers in filing categories, neither models nor sales, so read them as the shape of the catalog and not as market share. How OTC aids and Medicare fit together has its own page.

How much hearing aids cost

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in May 2024 that prescription hearing aids can range from $1,000 to $6,000 per pair, and OTC aids from around $200 to over $1,000, depending on the technology. GAO relayed that range from a 2023 article in a trade journal; it did not measure prices and it is not an average.

Nationally, in 2023-2024 (2024 preliminary), Medicaid paid $1,405.85 per claim line for digital behind-the-ear aids for both ears: a payer's amount, not a retail price. Cost by line item has every line. To bring the number down, start with lower-cost routes, free hearing aid programs and payment plans.

Who pays for hearing aids

The table on this page gives each payer's rule; these are the points that change the answer most.

Original Medicare leaves hearing aids and the exams to fit them to you, as its coverage page explains. Medicare Advantage works differently. For 2026, 94.6% of the 5,599 plan segments we counted filed a prescription hearing aid benefit, and 37.6% filed an OTC one. Those shares count plan segments, not members, and each plan sets its own terms, so read how those benefits are filed against your plan's own document.

Medicaid depends on age and state. The federal benefit for those under 21 names hearing aids among its minimum hearing services, while adult rules are written state by state. Veterans should look at VA hearing aids first, since recommended aids come at no charge while VA eligibility for care lasts.

For everyone else, the answer sits in the policy: see private insurance and federal employee plans. Whatever you pay yourself can still count as a medical expense with the IRS, through an FSA or HSA or a tax deduction.

Where to buy hearing aids

OTC aids are on the shelf or a website, so your first stop can be a store or online retailer. For a prescription aid, you go to a licensed professional. The national provider file from August 2026 lists 21,613 active audiologists, 2,776 audiologist-hearing aid fitters and 10,715 hearing instrument specialists, plus 10,889 organizations under hearing care codes. Those records are self-reported and say nothing about who is taking patients, so use them as a sense of scale.

To see which license each kind of seller holds, read audiologist vs hearing instrument specialist. Before you commit, compare what a hearing test costs and ask about trial periods.

Brands, features and other hearing devices

Once you know your route, narrow by what you want from the device. For features, see Bluetooth hearing aids, rechargeable hearing aids and domes. For brands, start with Jabra, Oticon Intent, Audien or the Apple feature. Bone-anchored devices and cochlear implants are a separate purchase with separate costs: see BAHA hearing aids and cochlear implant cost.

Frequently asked questions

What's the average price of a good hearing aid?

GAO's May 2024 report gives ranges, not an average: $1,000 to $6,000 per pair for prescription aids and around $200 to over $1,000 for OTC aids. A range says nothing about which aid is good, so compare what each quote includes. More in cost by line item.

What are the three main types of hearing aids?

NIDCD lists behind the ear, in the ear and canal. Behind-the-ear aids sit in a case behind the ear, in-the-ear aids fit completely inside the outer ear, and canal aids fit into the ear canal.

Does Medicare pay anything on hearing aids for seniors?

Original Medicare does not: Medicare.gov marks hearing aids and fitting exams as not covered. Medicare Advantage can differ, since 94.6% of the 5,599 plan segments we counted for 2026 filed a prescription hearing aid benefit. Age alone changes nothing here; the type of Medicare does.

Sources

Price ranges come from a GAO report, which relayed them from a trade journal article. Medicaid amounts come from the CMS Medicaid Provider Spending file, national totals for 2023 and 2024 (2024 preliminary) with small cells masked by the source. Plan shares come from the CMS 2026 plan benefit files, each plan segment counted once. Provider counts come from the August 2026 NPPES file, by primary taxonomy. Catalog counts come from openFDA's device identifier data, by product code. Rules are read from each program's own page.

  1. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-aids
  2. https://www.ecfr.gov/api/renderer/v1/content/enhanced/current/title-21?part=800&section=800.30
  3. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hearing-aids
  4. https://www.rehab.va.gov/PROSTHETICS/psas/Hearing_Aids.asp
  5. https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/early-and-periodic-screening-diagnostic-and-treatment
  6. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/hearing-aids/otc-hearing-aids-what-you-should-know
  7. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/hearing-aids/how-get-hearing-aids
  8. https://api.fda.gov/device/udi.json?search=product_codes.code:%22OSM%22&limit=1
  9. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-24-106854.pdf
  10. https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/pbp-benefits-2026.zip
  11. https://opendata.hhs.gov/datasets/medicaid-provider-spending/
  12. https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/october-2026-alpha-numeric-hcpcs-file.zip
  13. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=182-547-0850 (archived copy)
  14. https://medicaid.alabama.gov/documents/9.0_Resources/9.2_Administrative_Code/9.2_Adm_Code_CPT19_Hearing_Services_9-16-26.pdf
  15. https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/plans/BrochureJson?brochureNumber=71-005&year=2026
  16. https://www.dol.gov/node/25144
  17. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p502
  18. https://api.fda.gov/device/udi.json?search=product_codes.code:%22ESD%22&limit=1
  19. https://api.fda.gov/device/udi.json?search=product_codes.code:%22QUG%22&limit=1
  20. https://api.fda.gov/device/udi.json?search=product_codes.code:%22QUF%22&limit=1
  21. https://api.fda.gov/device/udi.json?search=product_codes.code:%22QUH%22&limit=1
  22. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969
  23. https://download.cms.gov/nppes/NPI_Files.html

Cost and coverage research team Methodology

Cost and coverage research, not medical advice. Prices change and programs set their own rules: confirm with the seller or program, and talk to a hearing care professional about your hearing.