Key Questions to Ask When Shopping for Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids
How to navigate this nascent marketplace, which is expected to make hearing help more affordable and accessible
Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids could be a great option for consumers who need hearing help but may have held off getting it due to difficulty accessing traditional hearing aids and their high cost. Still, although they’ve been available for a little over a year now, only a small percentage of people who might benefit from an OTC hearing aid have actually purchased one yet, according to polling from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
Thinking about trying out an OTC hearing aid? Do some research first. Consumers “really should look around and educate themselves and see what their options are,” advises Kim Cavitt, AuD, a hearing healthcare consultant.
Here are three key questions to ask about OTC hearing aids before you buy one. You may also want to spend some time looking into ways of testing or evaluating your hearing at home, to figure out whether OTC hearing aids are right for you. CR members can also check out our recent evaluations of 10 OTC hearing aids.
Which Is More Important to You: Full Customization or a Simpler Device?
OTC hearing aids come in a few different flavors.
Some are what’s called self-fitting, meaning that they’re designed for you to go through an initial setup process, generally via a connected smartphone, that programs the device to your specific level of hearing loss. The advantage is a more customized hearing aid. “What I think people will succeed best with are things that … put out a custom output based off of your hearing, because everybody has their own auditory fingerprint,” says Nicholas Reed, AuD, an assistant professor of epidemiology and audiology with the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center.
Another advantage: self-fitting hearing aids have to be cleared by the FDA before they can be sold, so you have some extra assurance that they’re going to work as intended. Hearing aids that are not self-fitting (more on those below) do not need to be cleared before being sold.
Find the Best Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid for You
We tested 10 OTC hearing aids made by Audien, Eargo, Go Hearing, Jabra, Lexie, Lucid, and Sony.
What’s the Return Policy?
How long you have to return an OTC hearing aid is a key consideration, because it generally takes a couple of weeks to get used to a hearing aid and figure out whether it’s really working for you or not. So a solid return policy of a month or more should give you the time to thoroughly try out the product but still send it back if it’s not working out.
Check the product’s warranty, too. When you can, try to pick devices with longer warranties.
What Customer Service and Support Does the Company Offer?
One of the advantages of the traditional model of buying hearing aids through an audiologist is that you have an expert helping you figure out how to use your hearing aid. That level of support can make a big difference in how satisfied people feel with their hearing aid.
In one 2017 randomized controlled trial, people who got hearing aids through a traditional audiology route and through an OTC route ultimately had similar levels of benefit from the devices—but the audiology group expressed more satisfaction with their hearing aids.
Study author Larry Humes, PhD, a distinguished professor emeritus of speech, language, and hearing sciences at Indiana University, says the worst-case scenario in his mind would be if people who could benefit from an OTC hearing aid end up not using them, “not because the device isn’t good—it meets FDA guidelines, it’s a good-quality device—but all the extra support somebody needs in adjusting to hearing aids that normally could be provided through an audiologist, isn’t available.”
That’s why it’s important to find out exactly what level of support you’ll have access to for the hearing aid you’re considering, including when that support will be available and what sorts of experts are providing it.
CR reached out to a few companies that will sell OTC hearing aids to find out what they offer. Support ranges from phone-based customer service representatives to a helpline staffed by audiologists or hearing aid specialists to an option for in-person support in stores around the country.
Plus: Consider Other Costs
Increasingly, Cavitt says, audiologists are unbundling hearing consultation services from the actual cost of hearing aids. So if you find yourself with an OTC hearing aid you’re unable to figure out and you haven’t gotten adequate support from the company, you can always take the device in to have an audiologist help you with it.
Just be prepared to pay for that service, Cavitt says: A visit to the audiologist for this sort of consultation is likely to cost somewhere between $100 and $300. Call ahead to find out whether the provider will help with an OTC hearing aid, what you can expect to pay, and whether your insurance will help cover the cost.
