What to Know About Apple, MDHearing, Sennheiser, Soundbright, and Other Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Brands
What support they offer, where you can buy them, how much they cost, and more
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Since over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids—intended for people with mild to moderate hearing loss—first became available in 2022, a variety of manufacturers have entered the marketplace. That includes big names in tech and audio, such as Apple and Sony, as well as newer startups focused solely on OTC hearing aids. Some of the traditional “Big 5” prescription hearing aid makers have also entered the OTC market. And things in the OTC hearing aid industry are changing fast. There have already been mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and market exits. Sony, for example, one of the first companies to introduce an OTC hearing aid, ended its line of hearing aids earlier this year.
If you’re shopping for OTC hearing aids, all of this marketplace change can be hard to keep track of. Here, we run through a number of prominent OTC hearing aid brands, explaining some of their history and positioning in the marketplace. We didn’t include every single OTC hearing aid brand here, but we aimed to include many of the ones consumers are likely to come across, especially brands that have sought and earned Food and Drug Administration clearance for marketing self-fitting hearing aids (more on that below). We also included OTC hearing aid brands owned by the Big 5—with one exception: Starkey’s Smart Hearing OTC aid, which, unlike OTCs from other brands, is sold only in Starkey’s retail stores.
- Hearing Aid Brand Basics: Apple Audicus Audien Concha Labs Eargo Elehear Go Hearing HP Jabra Lexie Lucid MDHearing Sennheiser Sony Soundbright Yeasound
Self-Fitting vs. Preset OTCs
Self-fitting hearing aids are so named because they’re designed for the user to be able to “fit” the hearing aid themselves—meaning not a physical fit (although all OTC users have to do that themselves, too), but the fit of the hearing aid’s programming. With prescription aids, the audiologist fits the hearing aid’s programming to your hearing loss. But with self-fitting aids, you do that yourself.
Self-fitting OTCs are designed to be used with a smartphone app that has some feature—often a brief hearing test—that customizes the device’s settings specifically for your hearing loss.
In order to receive a designation of self-fitting, hearing aid manufacturers must submit data to the FDA demonstrating that their hearing aid and accompanying app are safe and that users can program them effectively. For self-fitting hearing aids, manufacturers must also submit usability testing showing that people can use the devices as intended.
This can give users an extra measure of confidence that their OTC hearing aids can actually help. Sellers of preset OTCs (more on those below) don’t need to demonstrate efficacy or safety before putting them on the market.
If a hearing aid doesn’t have FDA approval to be marketed as a self-fitting hearing aid, then it’s a preset type. The word “preset” isn’t a formal legal designation, but it’s a common way of referring to non-self-fitting OTCs. Preset OTC hearing aids generally come with a few programmed hearing profiles. These may be situation-specific—such as for a noisy restaurant—or they may aim to cover different levels of hearing loss within the mild to moderate range. The amount of customization you can do varies widely across presets. Some offer only those few profiles, while others allow for much greater customization within those presets, sometimes similar to the level of customization of a self-fitting hearing aid.
Key OTC Hearing Aid Brands
Apple
How and when Apple might enter the OTC hearing aid market was the subject of speculation for many years. The company didn’t immediately wade into the market when OTCs arrived in 2022, although for several years it had been adding features to its AirPods Pro models that in many cases allowed its signature earbuds to function similarly to hearing aids. In 2021, for example, it started allowing users to upload audiograms—the results of a clinical hearing test—to customize settings for their headphone audio, amplifying soft sounds and adjusting frequencies based on the user’s hearing.
Finally, in 2024, Apple officially entered the OTC hearing aid market, but not with any new hardware. Instead, it introduced its Hearing Aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 (and later models), which allows the AirPods to function as self-fitting hearing aids. Users again have the option of uploading an audiogram they have from a doctor, or they can generate one with Apple’s Hearing Test function. Apple earned clearance from the FDA to market this software as an OTC hearing aid, which means it provided clinical data demonstrating that the Hearing Aid feature could program a user’s hearing aid as accurately as an audiologist using Apple’s software.
Apple discontinued its AirPods Pro 2 model, which CR tested as a hearing aid. But the company is still selling AirPods Pro 3, which are also capable of using the Hearing Aid feature (we haven’t tested the Pro 3s as OTC hearing aids yet). And if you already have a pair of AirPods Pro 2, you can still use them as hearing aids.
Type: Self-fitting
Typical cost: Up to $250 (for AirPods Pro only) per pair
AirPods are by far the least expensive option on the market right now for self-fitting hearing aids. Other OTC hearing aids at that price are preset types, offering different audio profiles programmed to fit most users but without much in the way of additional customization. Of course, using AirPods Pro as hearing aids is an inexpensive option only for people who are Apple customers. If you’re not, then you’ll have to add in the cost of purchasing an iPhone or iPad, which you need to access the Hearing Aid feature.
Customer support: The Hearing Aid feature is included in Apple’s suite of accessibility features. Customers with questions about these features should reach out to Apple Accessibility Support by phone or chat.
Audicus
Similar to companies such as Eargo and Lexie, Audicus has been providing hearing aids direct to consumers since 2012. But its approach is somewhat different from that of many in the OTC market. You can buy its hearing aids as is, but you also have the option, before you buy, to take their online hearing test or send them a test result from a recent audiogram. They’ll program your hearing aids based on the test result, then send them to you.
Type: Preset
Typical cost: $1,500–$2,500
Customer service: Audicus says users have unlimited access to and lifetime support from its team, and lists a phone number and email address.
Audien
Audien is one of the more well-known brands of budget OTC hearing aids. While it offers more expensive models with features like streaming and app-based customization, it also offers very low-priced options with little in the way of customization beyond volume control.
Type: Preset
Typical price: $100–$700
Customer service: Audien offers a phone number and an email address for customer support.
Concha Labs
Concha Labs is one of a few newer companies that have focused solely on selling OTC hearing aids. Its founder is a lifelong hearing aid user. The company offers just one model of hearing aid, and touts the ability of its self-fitting app to precisely personalize the settings for each user.
Type: Self-fitting
Typical cost: $1,300 per pair
Customer support: The Concha Labs website says that customers who need help with their hearing aids can either send an email or use the live chat feature that’s only available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Eargo
Eargo has been on the scene since 2010, long before Congress legalized OTC hearing aids in 2017. It operated first as a direct-to-consumer hearing aid company, selling its products online. It began offering OTC hearing aids once they became available in 2022. Eargo’s main claim to fame was the tiny size of its hearing aids, which were completely-in-canal style and almost invisible when worn. In 2025, Eargo merged with Lexie, another OTC hearing aid company, although the brands are sold separately.
In 2026, however, Lexie shut its doors, and ended Eargo’s operations too, so Eargo hearing aids are no longer available for purchase. (The two models of theirs that we tested, the 8 and the SE, both earned our recommendation.) Eargo’s website says that existing users of Eargo hearing aids will have access to customer support and to warranty claims only until September 15, 2026. The company says it’s working on a plan to ensure app functionality continues in the long term, but offers no further details. Customer support is available via phone and email.
Elehear
Elehear offers OTC hearing aids that are priced in a more budget-friendly range. The company heavily touts its speech clarity, directionality, and noise reduction functions as being powered by AI.
Type: Preset
Typical price: $400–$600
Customer service: Elehear offers a phone number and an email address for customer support. You can also send a hearing test result to Elehear via email or their Elehear App, and receive recommendations for settings and remote programming.
Go Hearing
Go Hearing was the second OTC hearing aid brand owned by HearX USA, the parent company of Lexie (and, since the 2025 merger, Eargo). Go Hearing preset aids were priced much lower than Lexie’s self-fitting hearing aids. The company describes Go Hearing as a complement to its offerings via Lexie, but with an emphasis on value and affordability.
As with Eargo, however, Go Hearing is also now closed, since Lexie’s closure. The Go Hearing website has messaging similar to Eargo’s, including that warranty processing and customer service will be available till September 15, 2026. Customer support is accessible by phone or email.
HP
The computer and printer brand HP offered one hearing aid product: the self-fitting, rechargeable Hearing Pro. These were actually powered by Nuheara, an Australian audio device company. In 2024, Nuheara entered voluntary administration (similar to bankruptcy), and the website HP used to sell its OTC hearing aids is no longer active.
Jabra
Jabra is one of several prescription hearing aid brands owned by one of the Big 5 hearing aid companies, Denmark-based GN Hearing. It entered the OTC market with a self-fitting hearing aid, but it discontinued that product in 2024. Now it offers its OTCs using a model similar to Audicus. You can take Jabra’s hearing test or submit your own audiogram, and the company will program your hearing aids before shipping them to you.
In CR’s brand-level, survey-based ratings of hearing aid brands, Jabra’s OTC hearing aids were the top-scoring out of the three OTC brands we received enough responses to rate. Still, the overall satisfaction with them was lower than with a number of prescription hearing aid brands, including Jabra’s prescription hearing aids. (For more details on how Jabra stacked up, members can access our full brand ratings.)
Type: Preset
Typical cost: $1,200–$2,000
Customer service: After you receive your hearing aids, Jabra offers a 30-minute orientation call with a licensed hearing professional, in which they will ask questions about your lifestyle and possibly fine-tune your device’s programming based on your answers. You also receive three years of access to these hearing professionals, in addition to phone-based customer support for the life of the hearing aid.
Lexie
Lexie has been selling direct-to-consumer hearing aids online since 2020, and began marketing its products as OTC hearing aids once OTCs were officially allowed to be sold starting in October 2022. Lexie’s parent company, HearX, is a digital hearing health technology company founded in part by faculty members at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. HearX also develops digital hearing screening tests, including the one used by the World Health Organization’s HearWHO app.
Lexie ended its U.S. operations in the summer of 2026. As on Eargo and Go Hearing’s websites, Lexie says customer service and warranty claims processing, available by phone and email, will be available until September 15, 2026. As with Eargo, Lexie says it is working on a plan for keeping its app operational for existing Lexie hearing aid users.
Lucid
Lucid sells both prescription and OTC hearing aids. Many of its OTCs are sold at a budget price range, although it also offers some higher-end options. Lucid provides on-site prescription hearing aid evaluations and sales at Sam’s Club locations. In CR’s survey-based ratings of hearing aid retailers, Sam’s Club was one of the higher scorers for overall satisfaction.
Type: Preset
Typical price: $200–$1,300
Customer service: Lucid says it offers “tele-specialist support” by phone or email to OTC hearing aid users.
MDHearing
Founded in 2009, MDHearing was one of the early players in online direct-to-consumer hearing aid sales. Now it offers a variety of preset OTCs at different prices.
Type: Self-fitting and preset
Typical price: $300–$600
Customer service: MDHearing offers a phone number and an email address for customer support. You can pay $200 for “VIP Care,” which the company describes as clinic-level care by telehealth with licensed hearing professionals. This also includes priority access to the customer care phone line and personalized follow-up care.
Sennheiser
Sennheiser, a German audio equipment manufacturer, used to sell products for consumers and audio professionals. In 2021, it sold the consumer electronics portion of its business to Sonova, one of the Big 5 hearing aid companies. Sonova still sells consumer electronics under the Sennheiser brand, and in 2023, the brand announced it would enter the OTC hearing aid market with its All-Day Clear hearing aids. The All-Day Clear model is still available, though the All-Day Clear Slim model has been discontinued.
Type: Self-fitting
Typical cost: $1,000 per pair
Customer service: You can call a dedicated line for help with OTC hearing aids, or send an email via a form on Sennheiser’s website. Sennheiser also offers an in-person option—an “In Clinic Care Package”—for help with its hearing aids at participating audiologists’ offices across the U.S. You have to contact an audiologist in your area for details (including the specific services offered, as well as the price), and you can find a list of providers in your area via the All-Day Clear app.
Sony
For its entry into the OTC hearing aid market, Sony opted to partner with another of the Big 5 hearing aid companies, a Danish firm called WS Audiology, which also sells prescription hearing aids under the brands Rexton, Signia, and Widex. Sony’s hearing aids became available when OTCs first came on the market in 2022. As of 2026, however, Sony is no longer selling OTC hearing aids.
Type: Self-fitting
Typical cost: $900–$1,000 per pair
Customer service: Sony offers customer support via phone, text, and chat.
Soundbright
Soundbright is a brand of OTC hearing aids owned by hear.com, which is in turn owned by one of the major prescription hearing aid companies, WS Audiology. The company focuses on selling OTCs at lower price points.
Type: Preset
Typical cost: $100–$500
Customer service: Soundbright offers customer support via phone, text, and chat.
Yeasound
Yeasound was established in 2023 as a division of Yealink, an audio technology company that sells videoconferencing and business phone devices and solutions. They offer two models of OTC hearing aids. Notably, their OTCs are enabled with Bluetooth’s Auracast technology, which can enable access to audio in public venues like concert or performance halls, airports, and more—or at least, it will, once Auracast is more widely used (find out more about Auracast here).
Type: Preset
Typical cost: $400–$550
Customer service: Yeasound offers customer support via phone, text, and chat.
