Best Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids of 2026
We put OTC hearing aids from brands like Apple, MDHearing, and Yeasound through rigorous tests to find out which ones work best and are easiest to use
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
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 of $1,000 or more per pair.
Accessibility & Aging
Mobility scooters, hearing aids, motion-sensing lights, lift chairs, adaptive kitchen tools, adjustable beds, and more—products to make life easier, safer, and more comfortable.
What About Lexie, Eargo, and Sony Hearing Aids?
The market for over-the-counter hearing aids is still relatively new, and CR market analysts—who keep a close eye on which products are available—have noticed that it seems somewhat volatile at this stage. Several prominent OTC hearing aid models are no longer available due to companies going out of business or models being phased out—in some cases just a few years after first being introduced.
For example, Eargo and its parent company Lexie both recently went out of business. CR tested and had recommended Lexie’s B2 Plus Powered by Bose and Eargo’s 8 and SE models.
Sony also recently opted to end its OTC hearing aid line; CR tested and had recommended its CRE-C20 model.
CR also tested and had recommended Sennheiser’s All Day Clear Slim model, which Sennheiser recently stopped selling. Its All Day Clear model is still available, though CR hasn’t yet tested it.
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 to 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.
