What's included in the price of hearing aids?

To understand hearing aid prices, you need to know about the three standard models of hearing care.

Model #1 - Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids (New in 2022)

In October 2022, the FDA opened a new category of hearing aids sold over the counter. OTC hearing aids typically come with clear prices ranging from $199 to $1,299 per pair.

Model #2 - Prescription Hearing Aids With Telehealth (Growing but still less common)

The post-pandemic move to remote healthcare increased the popularity of Telehealth hearing aid programming and care. Brands like Jabra and Audicus sell online and provide care through video calls and SMS. Prices for this category are readily available and range from $1,000 - $3,500 per pair.  

Model #3 - Face-to-Face Prescription Care (Most common)

Most hearing aid wearers visit a local audiologist, take a hearing test and purchase hearing aids through that local clinic. This group (still 80% or more) often can’t find a concrete hearing aid price until they are face-to-face with a doctor. On average, locally purchased hearing aids cost around $4,500-$8,000 per pair.

Why are prices for local care so hard to pin down?

Like car dealerships, the manufacturers don’t set the final price for hearing aids sold in a local clinic. They sell their hearing aids to audiologists, who then price them independently. Ultimately, this means that prices (along with what’s included) vary by provider and location.

Pre-negotiated prices are one way around this challenge (more on that below).

Most local hearing clinics do not charge for initial consultations and build their service fee into the hearing aid cost. A typical pair of hearing aids sold locally at your audiologist might include:

• Initial consultation
• A hearing test (sometimes billed separately)
• Device programming to match your hearing loss
• Up to 3 years of follow-up appointments and cleanings
• Extra batteries or accessories

The $4,500-$8,000 purchase price for hearing aids helps to pay for regular appointments at your local audiologist. Is it worth it?

The answer to that question depends on how much you want to return to the office. Many hearing aid wearers return a few times, in the beginning, to get things set up and then don’t talk to their hearing professional again until it’s time for new hearing aids.

Pre-negotiated versus standard prices

Have you heard of pre-negotiated rates? It's a pretty important concept to understand when it comes to buying prescription hearing aids these days. 

Basically, there are two main ways to buy hearing aids - you can either walk into a local clinic and purchase them there, or you can work with a health network that pre-negotiates the price for you. The second option is usually less expensive and doesn't include as much bundled care. 

Let’s go over how it works:
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“Walk-in” prices
When you contact a local audiologist to book an appointment, they will probably offer you a full-service package at "walk-in" prices. This package typically includes 2-3 years of follow-up appointments and maintenance services. The cost of all of these services is usually combined into one price, which is typically around $6,500 for a pair of hearing aids.

Pre-negotiated prices

If you're on a budget, one option to consider is working with a health network to access pre-negotiated rates for hearing aids. Several emerging health networks have agreements with leading brands like Phonak, Widex, Starkey, Signia, ReSound, and Oticon to offer lower prices. 

These health networks leverage the collective buying power of their thousands of customers to negotiate a flat rate with local providers, many of which are the same providers you would find on your own. While the service from these providers may include fewer free follow-up appointments, customers can save around 25%-40% upfront. So, for a pair of hearing aids, you might expect to pay around $4,000.

Use these pagest to find local care: 👇

Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Signia, Starkey, and ReSound.

With all that out of the way, let's talk prices. We'll start with the lowest cost options.

The least expensive way to buy hearing aids is to skip the local clinic altogether. This option is available for people with mild-moderate hearing loss and some basic tech-savvy.

OTC hearing aids: The most affordable hearing aids on the market put the power of programming in your hands. The three brands below use an app to test your hearing and then use your results to program your hearing aids at home. All three brands offer excellent customer service and follow-up care with professionals when it’s needed.

Bose ($899 a pair), MDHearing’s Volt Max ($699 a pair), Eargo ($2,650 a pair with Soundly discount code).  

Prescription hearing aids with Telehealth: Audicus and Jabra Enhance are two leading brands that sell direct-to-consumer. Both brands staff a team of hearing professionals who guide you through a hearing test or collect an audiogram. These professionals then program your hearing aids remotely and ship them to you. The result is a significantly lower price on high-quality products.

Jabra Enhance Select 50 ($1,195 a pair), Jabra Enhance Select 100 ($1,595 a pair), Jabra Enhance Select 200 ($1,995 a pair), Audicus DIA II ($998 a pair), Audicus Aura ($1,398 a pair), Audicus Clara ($1498 a pair), Audicus Wave ($1,898 a pair), Audicus Spirit ($2798 a pair), Audicus Omni ($3,398 a pair).

Now let's talk about prescription hearing aid prices. Buckle up, this gets just a little complicated.

In addition to the contrast between "walk-in" and pre-negotiated pricing, which we mentioned earlier. Another variation with locally prescribed hearing aids is technology level. We’ll explain this in more detail below.

In order to understand prescription hearing aid prices, you need to know two things:

• The difference between “walk-in” and pre-negotiated pricing (explained above)
• The difference in technology levels (I’ll break this down in a moment)

The good news is that you can ignore brand name for a minute because each of the largest hearing aid manufacturers offer a very similar price range across their products.

Refresher on the difference between “walk-in” and pre-negotiated pricing.

Pre-negotiated prices come from health networks that use their size to secure flat-rate prices with local providers. When you choose to work with a network you get to use their leverage for 25%-40% savings.  

The difference between hearing aid technology levels.

All major hearing aid brands sell devices at varying technology levels. Think of this as buying a Honda Civic and opting for leather seats. Here’s an example:

Widex Moment Sheer is the latest product from the brand (it’s great, rechargeable, Bluetooth enabled etc.)

Before you buy the Widex Moment Sheer hearing aids you’ll need to pick a technology level. All levels come with the same major features like rechargeable batteries and Bluetooth, but the most expensive versions give you better sound quality, background noise reduction, and wind control.  

You can expect to pay $1,500 more for the top model than the bottom.

Now that you understand what drives the price of hearing aids, let’s get into some real-life examples.

Pre-negotiated Starkey Evolv AI behind-the-ear pair: $2,998 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Pre-negotiated Starkey Evolv AI in-the-ear pair: $2,998 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Walk-in average average for a pair: $6,406 (Source: HearingTracker)

ReSound Hearing Aid Prices

Pre-negotiated ReSound OMNIA behind-the-ear pair: $3,198 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Walk-in average average for a pair: $5,689 (Source: HearingTracker)

Phonak Hearing Aid Prices

Pre-negotiated Phonak Lumity behind-the-ear pair: $2,798 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Pre-negotiated Phonak Virto in-the-ear pair: $2,998 lowest-tech - $4,498 highest-tech
Walk-in average average for a pair: $5,615 (Source: HearingTracker)

Oticon Hearing Aid Prices

Pre-negotiated Oticon More behind-the-ear pair: $3,198 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Walk-in average average for a pair: $5,541 (Source: HearingTracker)

Signia Hearing Aid Prices

Pre-negotiated behind-the-ear pair: $2,798 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Pre-negotiated in-the-ear on pair: $2,898 lowest-tech - $4,400 highest-tech
Walk-in average average for a pair: $5,248 (Source: HearingTracker)

Widex Hearing Aid Prices

Pre-negotiated behind-the-ear pair: $2,798 lowest-tech - $4,598 highest-tech
Pre-negotiated n-the-ear on pair: $2,898 lowest-tech - $4,400 highest-tech
Walk-in average average for a pair: $5,507 (Source: HearingTracker)

Can I purchase hearing aids for $500 or less?

Numerous products are available for purchase online at prices below $500. However, in most cases, these products aren't worth the investment since they lack customization options to suit your specific hearing loss. As a result, all sounds are amplified, not just the necessary ones. Here's an example to illustrate this:

The audiogram displayed below depicts a typical pattern of hearing loss. The individual's ability to hear higher-pitched sounds declines progressively.

If the individual with the sloping hearing loss, as shown in the previous audiogram, buys "one-size-fits-all" amplifiers, the high points in their audiogram will become excessively loud and uncomfortable.

This is what the audiogram of the individual with the aforementioned hearing loss should resemble with a custom-programmed product.

It's important to note that even premium hearing aids can't replace your normal hearing, but they can get you closer than pre-set amplifiers.

Our Soundly hearing enthusiasts spent many hours researching hearing aids across brands and the lowest price. When looking for a truly custom hearing aid, the lowest price point currently available is around $699 for a pair, regardless of the brand. Although this price may decrease in the future, we have not reached that point yet.