The Best Places To Buy Hearing Aids

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“Hearing aids in the United States have had by far the highest prices in the world,” said money expert Clark Howard in a recent podcast. “Americans pay 10-30x for hearing aids what people do in other parts of the world. Well now, hearing aids are free market.”

Now that you can buy FDA-approved hearing aids without a prescription, prices are starting to drop. While this is great news for consumers, all of the new and affordable options can be overwhelming. 

I have researched the prices and process of buying hearing aids at a variety of popular retailers to see where you’ll get the best deal and the best customer experience on both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription hearing aids. In this article, I’ll take a close look at six of the best places to buy a hearing aid in 2024. 

This article was updated in February 2024 and I review it every 12 months. Detailed notes on all updates can be found here.

Where To Buy Hearing Aids

Whether you’ve worn hearing aids for years or you’re thinking about trying out your first pair, there’s no longer a shortage of affordable options. 

If you have mild-to-moderate hearing loss, over-the-counter hearing aids may work for you. And, you can now find FDA-approved options as low as $199 per pair!

If you have severe hearing loss, you’ll still need to see a professional to assess your hearing health and hearing aid needs. Even if that’s the case, the cost of prescription hearing aids is finally starting to drop.

In addition to lower prices making hearing aids easier to access, they’re also more convenient to purchase than ever before. 

“You can go in a Best Buy, you can go online, you can go to Walmart, and you can buy FDA-approved hearing aids ultra-cheap,” says Clark.

Best Buy and Walmart both offer a great selection of OTC hearing aids for some of the lowest available prices. You’ll also find great prices for OTC hearing aids online from MDHearingAid and HearUSA. Warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco come out on top for customer service as well as pricing on prescription hearing aids.

6 of the Best Places To Buy Hearing Aids

Based on cost, convenience, follow-up care and customer experience, I’ve determined that these are six of the best places to buy hearing aids: 

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Hearing Aid
Starting Price Range
(Per Pair)
SelectionHearing Aid TypesBest For
MDHearingAid$297-$3974 different MDHearingAid modelsOTCTrying hearing aids for the first time
Walmart$175-$1,298Go Hearing, Lucid Hearing, Lexie Hearing, and 11 moreOTCLow prices and convenience
Best Buy$200-$2,950Jabra, Lucid Hearing, Lexie Hearing, Go Hearing, Hearing Pro, Hearing Assist, Eargo and SonyOTCA large selection of OTC models
Sam's Club$199-$4,149Lucid Hearing and Liberty (exclusive to Sam's Club)OTC & PrescriptionFollow-up services
HearUSA$1,000-$8,0002 OTC Sony models
Signia, Rexton and Widex prescription models
OTC & PrescriptionA large selection of prescription models
Costco$1,499.99-$1,599.993 brands including Jabra, Rexton and PhilipsPrescriptionOverall customer experience with prescription hearing aids

The prices above are accurate as of February 2024.


MDHearingAid

MDHearingAid offers three hearing aid models that are all available without a prescription. But one thing to note: this retailer is completely online.

Hearing aids available from MDHearing include the Air, Neo, NeoXS and Volt models.

The prices at MDHearingAid are some of the cheapest prices you’ll find for hearing aids. The Air and Neo devices cost $297 per pair while the NeoXS and Volt models cost $397 per pair.

Since MDHearingAid’s hearing aids are available over the counter, you don’t have to have a professional audiogram from a doctor. You won’t have to take any specific hearing test to decide which device you want to order from MDHearingAid. Still, the website does offer a free online hearing test. The results will tell you if your hearing level is healthy or if you have hearing loss that’s mild, moderate, severe or profound. 

I recommend MDHearingAid as one of the best places to try out hearing aids for the first time because of the straightforward selection and low prices. It’s a great way to find out if you’ll actually like/wear hearing aids. Plus, you have 45 days to return your hearing aids for a full refund if you aren’t happy with them. 

“So you’ve got time to try it out and see if it works for you and still save a fortune,” says Clark. “Because it’s not at all unusual for somebody to go to one of the cartel places and pay $6,000 for hearing aids.”

Team Clark actually ordered a pair of the formerly available MDHearingAid PRO devices and I asked my grandfather, who’s worn hearing aids for years, to try them out. You can read about our experience here.


Walmart

Walmart is a relatively new addition to our list now that the major retailer has entered the OTC hearing aid market. 

At Walmart, you’ll find a selection of OTC hearing aids available beginning at $175 per pair. Personal amplifiers are also available beginning as low as $26 per pair.

Available brands include Go Hearing, Lucid Hearing and Lexie Hearing. Lexie Hearing by Bose is actually the most user-friendly OTC hearing aid in the National Council on Aging’s recent study. When I checked the prices at Walmart, I found Lexie hearing aids available for $799-$999 per pair! 

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“Jabra and Lexi by Bose— those two had the highest ratings significantly, by far, compared to companies that were traditional typical hearing aid manufacturers making hearing aids,” says Clark. “But the point is these are much, much cheaper than they used to be.”

If you buy a hearing aid at Walmart, you’ll have 60 days to get a full refund or exchange. You can buy hearing aids from Walmart online or in-store without a prescription. 


Best Buy

Like Walmart, Best Buy has also recently started selling OTC hearing aids. At Best Buy, you’ll find a large selection of hearing aids from brands including Jabra, Lexie Hearing, Eargo, and Sony. 

On a five-point scale, the Jabra Enhance earned a 9.9/10 from the National Council on Aging. That model is currently available at Best Buy for $1,195 per pair. Lexie Hearing aids, which earned a score of 9.7/10, start at $799 per pair.

Also like Walmart, Best Buy offers a 60-day return policy on hearing aids. So if you purchase a pair and decide that you don’t like them or aren’t wearing them, you have a couple of months to bring them back for a full refund.

If you’re looking for a good selection of OTC hearing aids, Best Buy is going to be hard to beat! You can check out the full selection online or in-store at a Best Buy near you.


Sam’s Club

You’ll find great prices and great follow-up services at Sam’s Club as well as a selection of both OTC and prescription hearing aids. 

You will have to be a Sam’s Club member to buy a hearing aid from this retailer, but the savings can definitely be worth it. “The warehouse clubs have been at the leading edge along with some online sellers in the new price points,” says Clark. 

Sam’s Club carries Liberty Hearing aids and Lucid Hearing aids in several different models ranging from $199-$499 per pair online for OTC hearing aids and $1,299 to $4,149 per pair online for prescription hearing aids. You can check out a small selection online before visiting the store, but you may find a bigger selection at your nearest warehouse. Still, this is a great way to get an idea of pricing.

If you do buy a hearing aid from Sam’s Club, you’ll have access to a variety of services as long as you maintain your membership. This includes free programming and/or adjustments, use and maintenance training, repair services, annual follow-up tests and more. 

Before you decide where to buy your next device, be sure to check out these five things to know about buying hearing aids at Sam’s Club.

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HearUSA

At the time of writing, HearUSA only offered a small selection of OTC hearing aids online. When I called my nearest HearUSA location, they also told me they hadn’t yet received OTC hearing aids to sell in-store. 

However, both of the OTC models available online are Sony hearing aids. Currently, HearUSA offers OTC Sony hearing aids from $999.99 to $1299.99 per pair. You can check out the selection online.

In addition to a couple of OTC options, HearUSA does offer a large range of prescription hearing aids from Signia, Rexton and Widex. These hearing aids aren’t available to view online, but when I called my nearest HearUSA location, I was told that prescription hearing aids ranged from $1,998-$8,000 per pair. 

To order prescription hearing aids, you can make an appointment at a HearUSA location to work with an audiologist to find the best solution for your hearing.

To learn more about buying hearing aids from HearUSA, be sure to read these five things to know.


Costco

If you are shopping for prescription hearing aids, Costco is a great place to buy them. Unfortunately, Costco doesn’t yet offer over-the-counter hearing aids. 

Costco Members have access to free hearing tests, free hearing aid cleanings and great prices on quality prescription devices.

The warehouse carries three different hearing aid brands, including Jabra, Rexton and Philips. After you make your purchase, you’ll have access to free follow-up appointments, hearing aid cleanings/check-ups, loss and damage coverage and warranty periods that vary by model.

While you will have to be a Costco member to purchase a prescription hearing aid from the warehouse, the $60 annual membership fee will pay for itself. In fact, Clark says: “If you are required to be a member to buy hearing aids at a warehouse club price, it is well worth the membership fee to do so.”

To learn more about buying a hearing aid from Costco, check out these five things to know

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Final Thoughts

Deciding where to buy a hearing aid can be overwhelming, and unfortunately, it can still be easy to overpay. 

If you’re looking for our recommendation, MDHearingAid, Walmart or Best Buy are great places to start for OTC hearing aids. HearUSA and Sam’s Club both offer OTC and prescription hearing aids. At the time of writing, Costco only offers prescription hearing aids. However, you’ll find great prices there compared to many traditional prescription hearing aid retailers.

While prescription hearing aids can still easily range into the thousands, OTC hearing aids are now available for as low as $199 per pair. Eventually, the overall cost of hearing aids should decrease even further, but it may be a slow process. Fortunately, we are finally starting to see this win for consumers.

“The prices are still much higher than they are in the rest of the world,” says Clark. “But they’ve come down so, so much.”

No matter where you decide to buy your hearing aids, be sure to take the time to compare prices and make sure you’re getting the best deal. Consider taking a free online hearing test to determine if an OTC hearing aid will work for you.

In addition to the total price, also be sure to ask about the warranty and the price of follow-up services.

Where have you had the best experience with buying hearing aids? Let us know in the Clark.com community!

Article Updates
  • February 20, 2024: Updated hearing aid pricing and selection across all retailers
  • February 20, 2024: Updated hearing aid model ratings based on the latest data from the National Council on Aging
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