How to Choose a Hearing Aid: Route, Price, Contract and Returns

Over the counter or prescription: which route you buy through

The sales channel comes first because it decides who can sell to you and which rules follow the sale. The table above sets the two routes side by side.

Over the counter (OTC). FDA says no exam or doctor's appointment is required for people aged 18 or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. You can buy in a store or from an online retailer, and an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser can sell you an OTC aid too. Federal rules prohibit a sale to or for anyone younger than 18. Device categories and clearance records are on our OTC hearing aids page.

Prescription. These aids are available only through a licensed hearing health care professional, who can program them. FDA says people younger than 18, or with a more severe hearing loss, need a prescription or other order from a person licensed in their state. FDA itself requires no medical exam or hearing test for prescription aids, but your state may require a visit first.

The test and the purchase can be two separate decisions. FDA says you can ask a professional for your hearing evaluation records and buy your aid elsewhere. Prices are on what a hearing test costs, and audiologist vs hearing instrument specialist covers who holds which license.

Behind-the-ear or in-the-canal, CROS or standard: FDA lists type, style and wireless features among the things to weigh, and our guide to the different types of hearing aids covers each one.

Hearing aid costs: what the reported range can and cannot tell you

In a report dated May 7, 2024, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote that the reported cost of prescription hearing aids can range from $1,000 to $6,000 per pair, and that OTC aids can range from around $200 to over $1,000, "depending on the device's technology." GAO relayed those figures from a February 2023 Hearing Journal article. They are a reported range from that date: neither an average nor a current quote. The OTC half of the sentence does not say whether the amounts buy one aid or two, so the two ranges do not line up pair for pair.

To compare real offers, put each seller on the same footing. FDA tells buyers to look at the total cost and at whether they will need one aid or two, so ask every seller for one total, for the same quantity, with all fees in it. Then add what comes later:

• Maintenance and repair. FDA's list includes the estimated schedule and costs.
• Batteries. An OTC package must give the type and number of batteries and say whether they are included.
• Extra devices. An OTC package must also say whether a mobile phone or remote control is necessary to control the aid.

Dated brand prices and what Medicaid paid per claim line are on how much hearing aids cost. Lower-priced channels are compared on affordable hearing aids. Before you pay out of pocket, check insurance coverage and payment plans. IRS Publication 502 lets you include the cost of a hearing aid and the batteries, repairs and maintenance needed to operate it in medical expenses; what that means for your return is on the tax deduction page.

Return terms: New York, California and the OTC box

Your return right depends on where and how you buy, and neither state text below sets a national trial period.

New York. The receipt a registered dispenser gives you under General Business Law § 798 has to state your right to cancel; the deadline and what the seller may keep are on our hearing aid free trial page.

California. If an aid "is not initially fit for your particular needs," the state's hearing aid dispensers board says it may go back to the seller, with the deadline and outcomes on the same page. The Board's fact sheet on mail order and internet hearing aids also says those sales may go only through a dispenser licensed by the Board.

OTC aids. The federal rule requires a notice of the manufacturer's return policy on the outside package. FDA's sample wording allows for a return policy or for the absence of one. FDA adds that its OTC regulations do not require manufacturers to provide a warranty. The same rule limits state requirements that restrict OTC sales (21 CFR 800.30(h)), so do not assume the New York or California terms follow an OTC purchase. Read the box and the seller's written policy before you open anything.

What to ask, and get in writing, before you pay

FDA's buying list works as a script. Ask these questions of any seller, in any state, and keep the answers on paper:

• Is there a trial or adjustment period? FDA notes that many manufacturers allow one, with a return for a refund inside that period. Ask how long it lasts and which day it starts: New York counts from receipt and California from delivery.
• Which fees are nonrefundable if I return the aids? Ask for the refundable amount in dollars.
• Is there a warranty, and can it be extended? Ask which parts and services it covers.
• What will maintenance and repair cost, and how often?
• Is this aid new, used or rebuilt? An OTC package must declare a used or rebuilt aid.
• Where and when are adjustments and servicing done?

New York's receipt rule also makes a useful request list. There, the receipt must show the date of sale, the make, serial number and model number, the business address, the office hours for fitting, adjustments and servicing, whether the aid is used or reconditioned, the dispenser's certificate number, and the warranty and return terms. That rule binds New York sales only. Elsewhere, you can still ask for the same details on your own paperwork.