The Best Hearing Aids of 2025

What to Consider Before You Buy

Every person is unique, and so are their hearing loss needs. Consider these factors to find a device that suits your needs and lifestyle. For more tips, check out our How to Buy a Hearing Aid guide.

Hearing aids shouldn’t bankrupt you. With such a steep price and minimal insurance coverage, it’s no wonder why so many people put off hearing loss treatment. Between audiologist visits, hearing aid orders, custom fittings, and maintenance, it’s justifiable that you might postpone treatment rather than fork over your credit card. It’s vital you know your budget before you start browsing for hearing aids. Many brands offer trial periods where you can test out the device for a set number of days and, if they’re a bad fit, return them free of charge.

It doesn’t have to be obvious that you’re wearing a hearing aid. Despite cartoonish media depictions of hunched-over seniors screaming “WHAT?!” at every person who tries to talk to them, hearing loss doesn’t discriminate by age. With nearly 10 million Americans under the age of 60 affected, more should be taking advantage of the sleekly designed hearing aids on the market. Similar to the stigmas that keep people from seeking mental health treatment, the hearing-loss community is plagued by self-consciousness when it comes to wearing these devices. Modern in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids have come a long way in subtlety.

Opt for a professional hearing test over an online one. While online and app-based tests are a good way to dip your toes in and see whether you have hearing loss, a detailed audiogram that only an in-office visit can provide is a far better option. A hearing professional can use this audiogram to calibrate hearing aids to your specific needs.

What Are the Different Types of Hearing Aids?

Before you choose which hearing aid is right for you, it’s best to familiarize yourself with the different styles on the market. While you may see multiple design styles, hearing aids essentially boil down to two main varieties: behind-the-ear and in-the-ear. Completely in-canal (CIC) devices also exist, but none are available over the counter. Here are common terms you’ll see:

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, also known as over-the-ear, are probably the most traditional style. For these devices, an often bulky plastic case rests on the back of your ear while a tube delivers sound to an ear mold. Because they’re bigger, they tend to have the most technology and can cater to higher degrees of hearing loss. That said, they also tend to stand out more, which is a drawback for those looking for subtlety. Receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) hearing aids are essentially the same as behind-the-ear devices, with a receiver component that sits in the ear canal instead of being built into the case. Though the industry likes to tout them as a sleeker, less noticeable counterpart, in actuality they’re not much smaller than BTEs and function identically.

In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, also known as in-the-canal (ITC), are more comparable to wireless earbuds from a design standpoint. These devices allow for directional mics but also tend to collect moisture and wax.

Completely in-canal (CIC) hearing aids are the most “invisible” hearing aids on the market. This is because, as the name suggests, they’re completely submerged in your ear canal with nothing sticking out (besides a tiny string for removal). They typically have to be inserted by a professional and left in the ear for longer periods, and as noted, they are not available over the counter.

How Much Do Hearing Aids Cost?

How much money should you expect to spend on a hearing aid? The answer depends primarily on whether you’re looking into over-the-counter or prescription hearing aids. Unsurprisingly, the latter is a wallet guzzler, with average costs between $2,000 to $8,000. But OTCs can ring up quite a tab in their own right, and our most highly rated devices will still run you about $800 to $2,000 a pair. So far, we haven’t found an OTC device under this $800 price that is truly effective at treating hearing loss. In most cases, the $100 budget devices now flooding the market are too good to be true.

Fortunately, there are several methods to manage the high cost of a hearing aid:

Financing is available for virtually all reputable hearing aid companies, so you may not need to pay everything up front. Some plans are offered directly through the company, while others may require a third-party financing company like Klarna or Care Credit.

If you are over the age of 65, you may qualify for an add-on Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) that may include hearing-related benefits. Most private insurance providers don’t offer hearing exam and device coverage, though some may have the option to add it as a supplemental benefit.

Medicaid coverage in certain states also pays for hearing aids, provided the prescription brand accepts it. Veterans may also qualify for hearing aid coverage through their VA benefits.

Some state governments have programs to help their constituents front the costs of hearing aids. Call or write to your state department to see whether this is a service they offer.

About Medicare and Insurance

Much like how it does not cover eyeglasses, Medicare does not cover hearing aids. That said, supplemental plans may include hearing benefits: Medicare Advantage Part C plans and many private insurance plans offer some hearing support, but coverage varies widely, so check with your provider before making that appointment. (Many states mandate that private insurance plans cover hearing aids, but a number of these are restricted to coverage for children.) On the plus side, standard Medicare plans (Parts A and B) do cover the cost of a hearing exam, but only with a doctor’s referral.

Many hearing aid providers are now providing financing for their products, usually at very low interest rates that let you pay for the product over up to three years. Medicaid may also help offset the cost of hearing aids, as may employer FSA and HSA plans.

How to Buy a Hearing Aid

There are two primary ways to buy a hearing aid: through a medical professional (the prescription route) or over-the-counter. Each has its pros and cons.

Prescription hearing aids are usually acquired through an audiologist. These specialists operate businesses ranging from sophisticated medical centers to small shops in a strip mall, usually emblazoned with a sign that reads “HEARING AIDS.” Again, this was the only way to acquire a hearing aid before 2022. An audiologist provides full service for your hearing aid from start to finish. They will test your hearing in a specialized room, physically examine your ears for medical problems, and suggest a hearing aid model. They will tune your chosen hearing aids and adjust them over time if things don’t sound right. The catch? Prescription hearing aids are expensive, anywhere from two to 10 times costlier than over-the-counter models. That said, for consumers who need hand-holding and significant fine-tuning of their hearing aids, professionals like this still have a function.

Over-the-counter aids can be bought through retailers online or offline, just like you would buy, say, a laptop computer. Different vendors offer different levels of presales support, and as the price of an OTC hearing aid goes up, you can usually expect a higher level of service. This may start with an online hearing test delivered to you via your computer or phone; these are not as good as an in-person test, but some can be surprisingly accurate. You may also get access to a remote audiologist who can meet with you over a video chat and fine-tune your hearing aid settings over the air. Ultimately, higher-end OTC aids offer a user experience similar to that of prescription aids, only one that is fully remote. At the low end of the hearing aid spectrum, you may get no service and support at all.

What Are the Different Types of Hearing Loss?

Medically speaking, there are three types of hearing loss. These are:

• Conductive: Hearing loss related to the outer or middle ear.
• Sensorineural: Hearing loss related to the inner ear.
• Mixed: A combination of both.

All of these types of hearing loss can occur due to a variety of factors. Genetics and aging are two of the biggest and most universal: The older you get, the more the sensitive organs inside your ears begin to break down, and this can happen especially early and/or rapidly if you have a family history of hearing loss. The other all-too-common cause for hearing loss is exposure to loud noises, and it doesn’t take much. Many people exposed to prolonged, loud noises like concerts, industrial equipment, motorcycle engines, and sirens experience a gradual hearing loss due to the slow death of tiny hair cells in the inner ear. However, sudden exposure to very loud sounds like explosions and gunshots can cause instantaneous, irreversible damage by rupturing the eardrum (or worse).

There’s no easy way to know which type of hearing loss you have unless you’ve experienced some type of acute damage that has brought on a sudden change in your hearing. Whatever you suspect, it’s important you see a medical doctor to diagnose the issue fully.

Sensorineural is the most common type of hearing loss, and it can be caused by any of the aforementioned issues and more. Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent and can not be reversed, but it can be alleviated through the use of hearing aids. An audiologist can develop an audiogram for you that will show you how severe your hearing loss is and advise on what types of hearing aids might be best for treating it.

Conversely, conductive hearing loss is more medically treatable. This type of hearing loss is often due to a physical obstruction such as a buildup of earwax or fluid, or even physical damage to the eardrum. In these cases, a physician must examine the ear to determine the best course of treatment.

Degrees of Hearing Loss

The primary levels of hearing loss look like this, as defined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA):

Hearing loss begins to be noticeable at the “mild” level. This is where you may find yourself mishearing words or asking people to repeat themselves. By the “moderate” level, understanding speech at normal speaking volumes is basically impossible without a hearing aid. It’s at this level where many people will walk into a parent’s home and find the television volume cranked to deafening volume, as it’s the only way for them to understand what’s being said. By the “severe” level, a patient will not be able to discern most sounds, even loud ones. “Profound” hearing loss is a condition approaching deafness save for the loudest of sounds, such as explosions.

The best advice is to seek hearing care early on—preferably at the “mild” level, before you begin to acclimate to a life of muffled speech and other sounds.

Self-Fitted vs. Preset Hearing Aids

Traditional hearing aids must be “fitted”—not just physically fitted to your ear anatomy but acoustically fitted to line up with the particulars of your hearing loss. This is because for most people hearing loss is not unilateral. Some may experience trouble hearing low frequencies, some may struggle with higher ones. (Mine has a dip somewhere in the middle.) By tuning the hearing aid to boost the frequency bands where your hearing is at its weakest, a precision hearing aid can improve your overall hearing quality without blowing out the frequencies where your ears are already working well.

With self-fitting hearing aids, you do this tuning yourself, at home. Typically, an app will walk you through a simple hearing test, and the results of that test are used to tune, or fit, the frequencies as discussed above. This is basically the same process a doctor will undertake in fitting a prescription hearing aid, only in a simpler and more automated manner.

Conversely, preset hearing aids can’t be tuned in this fashion. These considerably less expensive aids tend to boost all frequencies universally, though most will at least include a slider letting you prefer bass versus treble or vice versa. As a result, the improvement offered by a preset hearing aid will necessarily be less nuanced than that provided by a self-fitted aid, though if you have relatively mild hearing loss, the difference may be less marked than you think.

Rechargeable vs. Replaceable Batteries

In the beginning, replaceable (or disposable) batteries were the only option for hearing aids. These batteries are tiny cells smaller than a pencil eraser which you replace with a new one after they die. Hearing aid batteries can last for 70 hours or more, so you’d typically replace them once every week or two, depending on use. The longer lifespan means that if you are often away from a power outlet (or forget to charge your aids), you can worry less about running out of juice. (However, you will have to remember to carry spare batteries with you.) Hearing aids with replaceable batteries can also be (but aren’t always) smaller and cheaper, but the batteries are difficult to work with. Even if you have steady hands, it can be difficult to get a tiny battery in and out. These batteries are easy to lose and represent a serious health hazard if children or pets eat them. There’s also a small cost consideration: spare batteries aren’t free.

Rechargeable hearing aids use lithium-ion batteries and recharge via a case, much like standard Bluetooth earbuds. Battery life can vary widely, from over 24 hours to less than eight. That said, for most users, if the case is kept plugged in and the hearing aids are dropped into the case any time they aren’t in use, they should never have to worry about a dead battery. The case itself also has a battery; these can supply an extra three to seven full recharges to the hearing aids before the case batteries die. Again, this varies widely. Rechargeable aids are much more commonplace today and reflect the most up-to-date technology. You’ll have far more options if you go for a rechargeable model.