Have you done an internet search for hearing aids recently? If so, you’ve probably been overwhelmed by all of the offerings available, ranging in price from less than $100 to several thousand, and even $10,000.
I congratulate you for recognizing that you need to do something about your hearing challenges, and I realize you are doing research to discover what your budget can handle. We all shop a little before making a major investment.
Before you make a choice about how you are going to treat a condition that is among the most critical aspects of your overall health and quality of life, I want you to understand exactly what value you are getting for the money you invest.
If you will allow me, I will provide you with all of the options you have available to address your hearing challenges in 2025 so you can make an informed decision, and I will respect the choice you make.
Deal?
Let’s get started.
Consider What You Want and Need Most
Because not all hearing challenges are the same, not all of the solutions are the same, and there are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions when it comes to treating your condition.
To compare the value of different devices and services, you really have to spend a little bit of time to decide what you want and need most in order to meet your better hearing goals.
Here is a quick list of questions to help you do that:
- What hearing challenges am I experiencing?
- How severe is my loss of hearing?
- How much professional support do I want/need, or can I do it myself?
- Is in-person support from someone local valuable to me?
- Is the cost of the solution a primary or secondary factor for me?
Keep the answers to these questions close by as you work through this guide, because how the devices and services discussed respond to your wants and needs determines their value to you.
Non-Prescription or OTC Treatment Options Available in 2025
Right up front, the hearing treatment solutions in this category have one major drawback, the absence of support from a hearing care professional. You may get customer service support or troubleshooting support in some cases, but no real guidance when it comes to reaching your personal treatment goals.
A second consideration is an understanding that non-prescription and OTC hearing devices are only intended to address mild to moderate hearing loss and provide some assistance in very specific cases.
The best comparison to what you are getting from this category is to consider how valuable a magnifying glass or readers would be if you really need prescription lenses. Before we move into the various options, let’s take a moment to define mild to moderate hearing loss.
What Is Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss?
The hearing care industry defines mild hearing loss as a deficiency of 25 decibels (dB) to 40 decibels below normal hearing in one or various frequencies. If you are experiencing this level of hearing loss, you will struggle to understand conversations in a crowded room or when there is a lot of background noise but still enjoy a one-on-one conversation when there is no noise.
In contrast, with moderate hearing loss, your ability to understand a one-on-one conversation will begin to be a challenge as well, especially when talking on a phone as well as struggling to communicate in a noisy environment. Moderate hearing loss is measured at between 40 dB and 69 dB below normal hearing.
Earbuds with a Cell Phone App
One of the simplest and most readily available options for dealing with your hearing challenges is your smartphone with a hearing app. This option uses your phone’s microphone to pick up sound and then amplify it into earbuds you may already own.
If you want something a little more advanced, the Apple AirPods Pro 2 technology we have discussed in previous blog posts is an option available in this category. It is the most advanced solution in this category and includes features like voice isolation, hearing tests and hearing protection that are not available in other app/earbud combinations.
Priced at $250, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are toward the upper end of the products offered in this category. Other earbuds are cheaper, but to get features like Apple is offering, but with less efficiency, you will have to pay $60 or more for an annual subscription to the app.
PSAPs (Personal Sound Amplification Products)
Technically speaking, PSAPs are not hearing aids. They are an amplification tool designed to amplify the sounds around you in specific environments.
One of the most recognized devices in this category is TV Ears. These, and similar devices, are used for amplifying sound in meetings or lectures and are designed to allow you to hear better in certain settings.
Typically priced at $79 - $1250, PSAPs can help in certain situations but are not designed to address hearing loss. Additionally, rather than being regulated by the healthcare industry, they are regulated by consumer organizations (the same companies that regulate electric razors and other electronic gadgets).
OTC Hearing Aids
OTC hearing aids are actually hearing aids and are designed to address hearing loss, but they are far inferior to prescription hearing aids in many ways. They can help address mild to moderate hearing loss.
They are quick and convenient to purchase without a hearing test by a hearing care professional. They are often purchased by individuals who have done a self-guided hearing test, but I need to provide a note of caution about the inaccuracy of these tests that are typically available on the internet.
Should you truly have a mild to moderate hearing loss, they may be able to help, but without proper programming, you’re really just rolling the dice on your hearing health for an investment of between $800 and $2500.
Prescription Treatment Options for Hearing Loss in 2025
In contrast to non-prescription options, prescription hearing aids are designed to address the full range of hearing loss severities from mild to profound and are certified by healthcare regulating agencies.
Like prescription medications, prescription hearing aids require a prescription from a hearing care professional, a doctor of audiology or hearing instrument specialist, who will conduct a hearing test.
Prescription hearing aids are programmed by a hearing care professional to address your specific hearing deficiency, but you will receive varying levels of accuracy and different levels of support from each of the three types of services I will evaluate in this section.
Some added advantages of prescription hearing aids are the warranties, troubleshooting, maintenance and repair services that are available with them, but the amount of support in these areas will vary between the different types of service as well.
Big Box Retail Store Hearing Aids
The two most common big box retailers to offer prescription hearing aids in the hearing aid centres of their large retail chain stores are Costco and Sam’s Club. These are popular options chosen because of their convenient location where you are already shopping.
At a big box store, you receive an in-person hearing evaluation from a hearing care professional, the fitting and some basic programming adjustments that use common gain and slope settings for people with a similar level of hearing loss. It is critical that you understand that everyone’s hearing loss is a little bit different, so these generic settings won’t quite meet your needs.
You will get hearing aids that are specially manufactured by a top hearing aid manufacturer for them, so these are a better-quality hearing aid than your typical OTC hearing aid.
Your hearing aids will come with a loss/damage replacement warranty, and you will receive technical support and repair services, but keep in mind, the support will follow a retail model rather than any kind of local personalized service.
You will pay a little bit less for this type of hearing care, somewhere between $1250 and $4000. The question you have to consider is: do you really get the value from the support and technology you are paying for?
Direct-to-Consumer Hearing Aids
One of the most appealing and convenient options available in the industry today is direct-to-consumer hearing aids. These hearing aids are typically offered after an online hearing test.
Like those from the big box store, they are preprogrammed with typical gain and slope settings for individuals with the same level of hearing loss as you are experiencing. To use computer jargon, this is essentially a “plug and play” solution.
You will have access to support from an online hearing care professional, but you may talk to a different person each time you call in, and you certainly won’t be talking to anyone local.
Another major drawback to this treatment option is the low level of accuracy of online hearing tests as well as the absence of a physical examination of your ears to rule out other causes for your hearing loss.
The typical investment for this treatment option runs from $1850 to $2400, and you are more apt to have access to a money-back guarantee rather than a 1 to 3 year-loss/repair replacement warranty.
Local Professional Hearing Care
I am going to show you what you are likely to invest in this treatment option right up front: $2500 - $7500. I can do this because the value offered by this treatment option is far superior to the other options.
What’s the difference?
The other options are focused on selling you a device to address your hearing problems; a local hearing care professional is focused on you. That means we are fitting the treatment to you rather than you to the treatment.
A critical difference is the fact that we do a thorough physical examination of your ears during your hearing test. In some cases, that means we find other causes for your hearing loss that do not require or cannot be treated by a hearing aid.
Our hearing assessment is far more comprehensive and far more accurate, exploring all of the causes, treatment options and successful outcomes with precise, personalized treatment to meet your unique hearing loss as well as your lifestyle needs.
Our ongoing support adds even more value to your investment by including services like:
- Personalized counselling while you acclimatize to your hearing aids
- Deep cleaning
- Maintenance
- Repair
- Troubleshooting
- Tinnitus support
- Earwax removal
- Ongoing testing to evaluate hearing aid performance
- 3-to-5-year loss/damage/replacement warranties
A broad range of the industry’s best hearing aid technology from the world’s best hearing aid manufacturers, capable of addressing the widest range of hearing challenges, is available, with many of them supported by your health insurance benefits, something no other treatment option is able to offer.
Making Your Choice Count
We respect whatever choice you make and celebrate the fact that you are doing something about your hearing challenges.
I sincerely hope that this guide has helped you identify what you really want and need when it comes to taking care of your hearing, one of the most important aspects of your healthcare.
If you would like to learn more about the difference the Port Credit Audiology & Hearing Aid Clinic treatment option offers, contact us by using this link, or call us at (905) 990-3755 today!
