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Oticon Reveal
- Receiver in Canal
- Prescription
- Rechargeable
- Bluetooth
- Telecoil
- IP68
Hearing aids: Types, costs & brands
Explore hearing aid types, costs, and brands. Compare styles, prices and lab-tested performance, with guidance for your first pair or an upgrade.
Two models from the research selection below. Not a recommendation. Compare these two, or pick any other pair on our comparison page.
Our review team.
Clinical expertise, independent editorial judgment, and firsthand experience with hearing loss.
- Steve Taddei, AuDHearAdvisor Lab DirectorRuns the lab · Wear-tests (profile, new tab)
- Matthew AllsopAudiologist · Video reviewsFits patients · Wear-tests (profile, new tab)
- Amy Sarow, AuDAudiologist · EducationWear-tests · Fact-checks (profile, new tab)
- Karl StromEditor in ChiefEdits (profile, new tab)
- Abram Bailey, AuDHearingTracker founderEdits · Fact-checks (profile, new tab)
- Digby CookHearing-aid wearerWear-tests (profile, new tab)
What goes into a review?
- We wear them.
At least a week of wear before hands-on ratings, including comfort, handling, and everyday use.
- We measure them.
Our partner HearAdvisor uses repeatable lab tests to measure sound performance and calculate the SoundScore.
- We score them.
Our published method explains how lab results, ownership ratings, and price shape the HearingTracker Score.
Our reviews, our editorial decisions.
We may earn commissions from purchase links. Partners cannot buy better ratings or approve conclusions. HearingTracker and HearAdvisor share a founder and personnel.
Hearing aid types and costs
Hearing aids can sit behind your ear or inside it. The price depends on the technology, where you buy, and the fitting and follow-up care included.
Get to know your options.
104 models across 53 product families, scored in HearAdvisor’s lab, with prices and sound samples. Pick up to four and put them side by side.
53 product families, 104 models
Phonak Audéo EON
- Receiver in Canal
- Prescription
- Rechargeable
- Bluetooth
- IP68
Fortell AI Hearing Aids
- Receiver in Canal
- Prescription
- Rechargeable
- Bluetooth
Hearing aid glossary
Looking that up…
Abbreviations describe the hearing aid’s style and buying category.
Read more about what matters to you.
Our focused buying guides go deeper into different budgets, features, and listening priorities.
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Hearing in background noise
Explore lab-tested prescription, OTC, and earbud-style options, with listening results and trade-offs for each.
Read the background‑noise guide (new tab)Budget and buying
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Everyday use
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Music and listening
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Choose how you’ll get fitted.
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Types of hearing aids
Behind-the-ear hearing aids include traditional BTE and receiver-in-canal (RIC) designs. In-ear styles range from larger ITE shells to smaller ITC, CIC, and IIC devices. Each has trade-offs in fit, handling, and features.
The research selection above uses receiver-in-canal styles only.
Explore more styles in the full directory (new tab)Worn behind the ear
Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids
The microphone, processor, amplifier, and speaker all sit in the case behind your ear. A hollow tube carries sound to an earmold or dome.
- Good for
- Strong amplification for more severe hearing loss, larger controls for easier handling, and a speaker kept away from earwax and moisture. Replaceable earmolds also make BTEs a common choice for growing children.
- Watch for
- The case is more visible behind the ear and may share space with glasses. A tightly sealing earmold can make your own voice sound boomy; tubing and earmolds need regular cleaning and occasional replacement.
Also worn behind the ear
Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids
A small case behind your ear connects by a thin wire to a speaker in the ear canal, fitted with an open dome, a closed dome, or a custom earmold.
- Good for
- With an open dome, RICs leave your ear less blocked, let natural sound in, and can make your own voice sound more natural. Their light, open fit can be comfortable for all-day wear.
- Watch for
- Open fittings work best when you still hear low-pitched sounds relatively well. More amplification may need a closed dome or earmold. The in-ear speaker also needs care to prevent wax and moisture damage.
Worn in the ear
In-the-ear and canal hearing aids
The electronics sit in the outer ear or canal, often in a custom-fit shell: ITE in the outer ear, ITC partly in the canal, CIC and IIC farther inside.
- Good for
- Keeping the space behind your ear clear for glasses. Larger ITE models can be easier to insert and handle than tiny canal aids; smaller CIC and IIC models offer a less visible fit.
- Watch for
- Tiny batteries and controls can be harder to handle, and the smallest models may offer fewer options for streaming, directional microphones, or rechargeability. Ear shape and hearing needs limit the fit; a more closed shell can also make your own voice sound boomy.
Whatever the style
Do different hearing aid types cost more?
Style alone does not set the price. BTE, RIC, and custom in-ear aids come in different technology levels and service packages, so compare equivalent models and ask whether fitting, earmolds, follow-up visits, repairs, and a trial period are included.
Digital and analog hearing aids
Digital describes how sound is processed, not where the aid is worn. A computer chip adjusts amplification for different pitches and listening situations; analog devices are now less common.
Hearing aid costs and prices
How much do hearing aids cost?
HearingTracker’s 2025 survey found an average price of $2,694 for a pair of hearing aids among US purchasers who reported a price. The buying channel made a substantial difference, as the chart shows.
Digital hearing aid prices reflect more than where you buy:
- Technology level
- Basic, mid-range, or premium. Higher tiers may add sound-processing features.
- Fitting and care
- Some quotes bundle professional fitting and ongoing follow-up; others charge for them separately.
Ask for an itemized price and compare the total package.
Based on 879 US pair purchases in our 2025 survey; excludes hearing aids obtained through the VA. These are survey averages, not quotes for a particular model. See the full price survey and methodology.
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How hearing aids help.
Hearing aids make sounds more audible for people with hearing loss. Your hearing, comfort, daily listening, and support needs all matter when choosing a pair.
From microphone to ear
A microphone picks up sound, electronics process and amplify it, and a small speaker (the receiver) delivers it to your ear. A rechargeable or replaceable battery supplies power.
How hearing aids work (new tab)Hearing speech in noise
Directional microphones help focus on speech from a particular direction while reducing sounds from elsewhere. Some newer hearing aids also use AI noise reduction to help separate speech from background noise. How much these features help depends on the hearing aid, its fitting, and the listening situation.
Find hearing aids for background noise (new tab)Accessories and apps
A remote microphone worn by a conversation partner or placed on a table sends their voice directly to compatible hearing aids. This can make conversation easier to follow in noise or across a room. TV streamers can send television audio straight to your hearing aids.
Hearing aid apps let you adjust volume and listening programs on your phone. Some also offer noise reduction controls or remote adjustments from a hearing professional. Available features depend on your hearing aids and phone.
Explore hearing aid accessories (new tab)
Features for everyday life
Consider handling small parts, charging or replacing batteries, phone compatibility, and difficult listening situations. A hearing professional can help you weigh the trade-offs.
Life with hearing aids.
Get help with the pair you have, from your first fitting to everyday connections and care.
Fitting and everyday help
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Helping someone take the next step?
Explore the choices together and make room for their preferences.
Make a short list together
- Situations they want to hear more easily
- Preferences about comfort and handling
- Questions about fitting and ongoing support
Bring the list to a conversation with a hearing care professional.
Prepare with the first-pair buying guide (new tab)Hearing aid brands and manufacturers
A hearing aid brand is not always a separate manufacturer. Five groups make most prescription hearing aids, and retailers may sell their own branded products, so compare the model, fitting, and support as well as the name.
Who makes the major hearing aid brands?
Sonova
Stäfa, Switzerland
Largest hearing aid group
Phonak, founded in Switzerland in 1947, is the top-selling hearing aid brand worldwide; its holding company took the Sonova name in 2007. Phonak shipped the first lithium-ion rechargeable hearing aid in 2016 and still makes Lyric, the only extended-wear invisible aid. The group also owns the AudioNova clinic network and Advanced Bionics cochlear implants.
BrandsDemant
Smørum, Denmark
Second-largest group
Oticon was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant, whose wife had hearing loss. It launched the first fully digital behind-the-ear aid in 1996 and introduced Made-for-iPhone connectivity with Opn in 2016; Oticon Intent uses motion sensors to judge what the wearer is trying to hear. Demant also makes diagnostic audiology equipment and bone-conduction implants.
Brands- Oticon (new tab)
- Bernafon (new tab)
- Philips HearLink
WS Audiology
Lynge, Denmark
Third-largest group
Formed in 2019 when Denmark’s Widex merged with Germany’s Sivantos, the former Siemens hearing business. Widex built the first digital in-ear aid and keeps a following among musicians; Signia carries the Siemens directional-microphone heritage into its Integrated Xperience line, and Rexton, sold at Costco, shares that technology. WS Audiology also owns the HearUSA clinics and hear.com.
GN Hearing
Ballerup, Denmark
Fourth-largest group
ReSound began in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986 and joined GN in 1999. It claims a run of firsts: the first open-fit aid, the first 2.4 GHz wireless streaming aid, the first Made-for-iPhone aid, and with Nexia the first aid ready for Auracast broadcast audio. Beltone sells through its own network of clinics, and Jabra Enhance covers GN’s online and Costco lines.
Starkey
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Fifth-largest group and the only one based in the US
Founded by Bill Austin in 1967, Starkey built its name on tiny custom in-ear aids and offers rechargeable completely-in-canal models in its Signature Series. In 2018 it introduced Livio AI, combining hearing technology with activity tracking; Omega AI, launched in October 2025, uses deep-neural-network processing.
Market positions are HearingTracker estimates. No single brand suits everyone, so ask which brands your provider fits.
Featured Brands
Other brands, A–Z
- AudibelPrescription (new tab)
- BeltonePrescription (new tab)
- BernafonPrescription (new tab)
- Jabra Enhance SelectOTC (new tab)
- LexieOTC (new tab)
- LucidDefunct Sam’s Club brand (new tab)
- RextonPrescription (new tab)
- SennheiserPrescription and OTC (new tab)
- UnitronPrescription (new tab)
- WidexPrescription (new tab)
National retailers
Compare clinic chains, big-box retailers, online sellers, and care networks.
Clinic chains
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Online retailers and care networks
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Big-box stores and marketplaces
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Popular reviews
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Popular comparisons
- Oticon Reveal vs. Phonak Audéo EON (new tab)
- Oticon Intent vs. Oticon Reveal (new tab)
- Oticon Intent vs. Philips HearLink 9050 (new tab)
- Jabra Enhance Pro 30 vs. Philips HearLink 9050 (new tab)
- Jabra Enhance Pro 30 vs. Jabra Enhance Select M Series (new tab)
- Phonak Audéo EON vs. Phonak Audéo Infinio Ultra (new tab)