Does Medicare cover hearing aids?
It's one of the first questions people ask at 65 and the answer has three parts: what Original Medicare pays (the test, not the aid), what an Advantage plan might add, and what changed when hearing aids went over the counter.
No, not the hearing aids themselves. Original Medicare (Parts A and B) does not pay for hearing aids or the exams to fit them. Part B does cover diagnostic hearing and balance exams when a doctor orders them to decide on treatment; you pay 20% after the Part B deductible. Many Medicare Advantage plans sold in the Capital Region include a hearing benefit (an allowance toward aids, or a fixed copay through a hearing-aid network), which is one of the real reasons people choose Advantage; the allowance size and the network vary by plan and change each January. Since 2022, over-the-counter hearing aids for mild to moderate loss can be bought without a prescription at a fraction of the old price, and a Medigap policy never covers them.
What Original Medicare covers, and doesn't
- Covered: diagnostic hearing and balance exams ordered by your doctor to determine whether you need medical treatment, for example after a sudden hearing change, dizziness or an ear injury. Part B pays 80% after the deductible. Since 2023 you can also see an audiologist without a doctor's order for certain non-acute hearing assessments, once a year.
- Not covered: hearing aids, batteries, repairs, the exam to fit or adjust them, and routine hearing checks. This has been true since Medicare began and has not changed.
- Medigap: a Medigap policy pays Medicare's cost-sharing on covered services; it never adds hearing aids, because Medicare doesn't cover them.
Where hearing benefits come from
Medicare Advantage plans
Hearing is one of the "extras" Advantage plans use to compete, and in the Capital Region most plans include something. The shapes vary: a dollar allowance toward aids every year or every few years, or a schedule of copays for aids bought through the plan's hearing network (TruHearing, NationsHearing and similar), often with a fitting exam and follow-ups included. Read the fine print for the network requirement, the allowance per ear versus per pair, and whether it renews yearly. The benefit is worth real money for someone who needs aids now; it should never outrank the medical network (is your doctor and hospital in it?) or the drug formulary, because those are where the big costs live. See Medicare Advantage in the Capital Region.
Over-the-counter aids
The 2022 FDA rule created a category of hearing aids sold without a prescription for adults with perceived mild to moderate loss, available in pharmacies and online. They're not covered by any part of Medicare, but they moved the price of a usable pair down by a large multiple, and for many people they're the answer regardless of plan. Severe loss, children and sudden changes still need an audiologist and a prescription device.
Other help
Veterans may get hearing aids through the VA; some retiree plans and unions include a hearing benefit; New York's Medicaid covers hearing aids for people who qualify, and for people with both Medicare and Medicaid the D-SNP plans often carry a richer hearing benefit than standard Advantage plans.
How I handle it
If hearing aids are on your list, I quote the Advantage plans in your county with their hearing benefit spelled out in dollars, next to the plan's network and your prescriptions, and I show the Medigap-plus-OTC alternative for comparison. No fee. Ask for a comparison.
- Hearing aids (Medicare.gov) — not covered by Original Medicare
- Hearing and balance exams (Medicare.gov) — Part B, 20% after deductible
- OTC hearing aids (FDA)
- Medicare costs 2026 (Medicare.gov)
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Does Medicare pay for a hearing test?
Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams when your doctor or another provider orders them to find out whether you need medical treatment; you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), plus a facility copay in a hospital outpatient setting. A routine hearing test or an exam only to fit hearing aids isn't covered by Original Medicare.
Do Medicare Advantage plans cover hearing aids?
Many do, as an extra benefit: typically an allowance per ear every one to three years, or set copays for aids bought through the plan's hearing network, sometimes with a fitting exam included. The amounts differ widely between the plans sold in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties and they change every year, so compare the hearing benefit against the plan's medical network and drug coverage, not on its own.
What about over-the-counter hearing aids?
Since October 2022 the FDA allows hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss to be sold over the counter, without a prescription or fitting. They're not covered by Medicare either, but they cost far less than prescription aids, and for many people they're the practical answer whatever plan they have.
Want a plan that helps with hearing aids?
Tell me your doctors and prescriptions and I'll show which Capital Region Advantage plans include a hearing allowance, and what it's really worth against a Medigap plan and over-the-counter aids.