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    Best Places to Buy Hearing Aids—and the Worst

    In CR's survey, we found out which hearing aid retailers provide the most satisfying shopping experience and the best value

    Connect Hearing, Costco Wholesale, and HearingLife logos with illustrated hearing aid next to logos
    Our members shared their thoughts on 17 hearing aid retailers, including Amazon, Connect Hearing, Costco Wholesale, HearingLife, and Sam’s Club.
    Graphic: Consumer Reports, Getty Images

    While you can still buy hearing aids at an audiologist’s office or a licensed hearing aid dispenser, many online retailers and big-box stores now offer their own options. The introduction of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids has expanded those alternatives further.

    Consumer Reports’ latest ratings of hearing aid retailers, based on our exclusive survey of 13,163 members, can help you figure out where you’ll get the best shopping experience. CR members weighed in on their satisfaction with various parts of their hearing aid purchasing experience, including the person who programmed their hearing aids, pricing options, cost transparency, selection, follow-up adjustment service, and more.

    More on hearing aids

    Included in our newest ratings are 17 places to buy hearing aids: Amazon, Audibel, Beltone, Connect Hearing, Costco Wholesale, Eargo, ENT or otolaryngologist offices, Hear.com, HearingLife, HearUSA, hospitals or clinics, Jabra/Jabra Enhance, MD Hearing, Miracle-Ear, Sam’s Club, TruHearing, and the Veterans Administration. 

    Overall, 86 percent of members who bought a hearing aid said they were very satisfied or completely satisfied with the retailer they used. 

    “Members who bought an OTC hearing aid tended to shop at online retailers like Amazon, wholesale clubs like Costco, or OTC hearing aid brand websites like Eargo.com,” says Adam Troy, who led our hearing aid brand and retailer survey. “Consumers purchasing OTC hearing aids reported slightly lower levels of satisfaction with the experience than did members who bought a prescription aid.” 

    If you’re looking for prescription and OTC hearing aid brands, we rated those, too. We also tested OTC hearing aid models in our labs.

    Here’s what we found out about the retailers in our survey. Members can access our full hearing aid retailer ratings.

    Become a member to read the full article and get access to digital ratings.

    We investigate, research, and test so you can choose with confidence.