Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids?

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That wording is from Medicare.gov's hearing aid page, read on October 6, 2026. It covers Original Medicare, which means Part A and Part B. Part B still pays for one hearing service: a diagnostic exam your parent's doctor orders.

If your parent also has Medicaid or VA care, see our guide to hearing aid cost with insurance. It walks through each payer in turn.

Medicare.gov files hearing aids under “Not Covered.” It describes them as “electronic devices that help people with hearing loss hear better.” Then the page stops. It gives no Part B percentage and no approved amount.

The rule reaches the fitting too. Exams “for fitting hearing aids” are excluded by name. So the audiologist visits that set up a prescription aid are your parent's cost as well.

Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams “if your doctor or other health care provider orders them to find out if you need medical treatment.” The exam is for diagnosis. Once your parent needs an aid, Medicare's part ends.

The cost follows the usual Part B rule: “After you meet the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount.” At a hospital outpatient clinic, your parent also pays the hospital a copayment.

One shortcut skips the doctor's order. Your parent can see an audiologist once every 12 months without one. That applies only to non-acute conditions, “like hearing loss that happens over many years.” It also covers care tied to surgically implanted hearing devices.

Medicare Advantage plans must cover everything Original Medicare covers. Medicare.gov adds that plans “may also offer extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn't cover.” Hearing is one of the extras it names. Benefits differ plan by plan.

Call the number on your parent's member card. Ask four questions:

1. Does the plan pay toward hearing aids, and how much per year?
2. Must your parent buy through a named hearing vendor or network?
3. Does the plan need prior authorization first?
4. Does the benefit include OTC aids, or prescription aids only?

Get the answers in writing.

Medicare.gov warns that a plan may require approval “before it covers certain services or supplies.” Its hearing aid page puts the advice in five words: “Contact the plan for more information.”

Medicaid runs state by state. Medicaid.gov lists “speech, hearing and language disorder services” as an optional benefit. States “may provide optional benefits” when they add them to the state plan. Your state Medicaid office can say what it pays for.

Veterans have the clearest path. The VA says that if aids are recommended and fit, “the hearing aids, repairs, and future batteries will all be at no charge.” That holds while your parent keeps VA eligibility for care. The first step is to register at a VA medical center. Then your parent books an audiology evaluation.

Our insurance guide covers Medicaid, the VA and tax-free accounts in more depth.

On Original Medicare, your parent pays the whole bill for aids. OTC hearing aids are the lowest-cost route. The FDA says they are for adults “18 years of age and older” with “perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.” Your parent can buy them in a store or online with no exam.

Audien lists six models (list prices per pair, checked 2026-10-06):

• ION Pro 2: $689
• ION Air: $489
• Atom X (2nd Gen): $389
• Atom Pro 2: $289
• Atom Air: $149
• Atom One: $98

That day its site also showed every model at 20 percent off, so the Atom One read $78.40. Audien offers a “45-day money back guarantee.”

OTC aids have a limit. The FDA says they are “NOT for the treatment of severe or profound hearing loss.” If you suspect more than moderate loss, the FDA says to see a licensed hearing professional. The Part B exam above is the covered way to find out.

A fitted pair costs far more. Costco listed pairs from $1,599.99, with a free hearing test, on September 22, 2026. Brand-name pairs ran up to $4,898 through one discount network that day.

Medicare pays nothing toward either.

Our hearing aid cost guide breaks those prices down by where you buy.

Next, see which OTC pair suits your parent. Our guide to the best OTC hearing aids for seniors compares four aids by FDA route, returns and support.