Best Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids of 2026
We put OTC hearing aids from top brands like Apple, Eargo, Lexie, Sennheiser, and Sony through rigorous tests to find out which ones work best and are easiest to use
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Hearing aids have been available over the counter for a few years now. That means that for people with mild to moderate hearing loss—which is the majority of folks with any hearing loss—accessing hearing aids has gotten a lot easier.
Or at least it has in theory. The flip side of being able to get hearing aids over the counter is that you don’t necessarily have the same level of support with your aids as you would have if you’d gotten prescription aids from an audiologist or another hearing care provider. That can make it tough for people to figure out which OTC hearing aids are right for them, and which are worth buying. While OTC hearing aids are usually cheaper than prescription ones, some still carry a hefty price tag of $1,000 or more per pair.
How CR Tests OTC Hearing Aids
Our evaluation of hearing aids was designed with input from professional audiologists and included feedback from people with hearing loss. We score OTC hearing aids on three main characteristics: ease of use, performance, and sound quality.
To rate each hearing aid’s ease of use, our usability expert evaluates its ease of setup and operation, and the ease of using the smartphone app if the hearing aid connects with one. To evaluate a hearing aid’s performance, one group of panelists provides feedback on comfort. A separate panel of people with some mild to moderate hearing loss uses it to take a series of listening tests.
We also test each hearing aid’s noise-filtering capabilities using a hearing aid testing device (a standard piece of equipment used by audiologists to make sure hearing aids work as they should for their patients). We use this same device to measure each aid’s sound quality, putting it through a variety of tests designed to assess specs such as the maximum output, frequencies amplified, and the level of interference or “harmonic distortion” the hearing aid produces, which can muddy the sound you hear.
