I wrote recently about why we should strongly consider buying Over the Counter (OTC) hearing aids. Read here.
The savings are huge. My prescription hearing aids cost over $4,000 in 2016. In 2024, I bought an OTC pair for under $2,000 that performed better than my prescription hearing aids. I also tested a $699 pair that performed better.
It’s Not a Discount Option
A lot of folks won’t consider them because they feel like they’d be buying the discount (cheap) option. This is our hearing after all.
In many cases, the OTC hearing aids are made by one of the big prescription brands. My Jabra hearing aids are made by Resound, which is a big player in the prescription hearing market.
The simple reason why they are cheaper is that the OTC model is less costly. In the OTC model, there are fewer people who need to get paid, and they’re selling higher volumes so they can afford to discount the price.
But the devices are not lower quality devices.
Service
I have found the service to be better than the service I received for my prescription hearing aids.
I noticed some strange behavior with my OTC hearing aids. They were trying to block loud noises, but the way they were doing it was a little disorienting.
I opened the iPhone app, tapped support, made a quick note of the problem and I got an email back suggesting I set up an appointment with an audiologist.
Back to the support tab in the app. I requested an appointment and had several options available over the next few days. I scheduled an appointment for 9am, 2 days out.
The Appointment
I got an email with a zoom link and a reminder the day before, and another an hour before.
I tapped the zoom link and the meeting began. I’m on video with a real live audiologist. I’m in my robe and slippies.
We talk about the problem I’m experiencing and she explains that the hearing aid is doing its job trying to protect my ears from loud noises. She asked if I had changed the type of hearing aid tips recently, and I had. She thought that the different style tips probably made the hearing protection more pronounced.
She encouraged me to stick with it but also told me that if I switched to the music mode either in the app or by pressing the button on the hearing aid, I would get amplification based on my hearing needs, but that I would not get any hearing protection.
Wrap Up
Quick story to demonstrate how easy it is to get an appointment, get it quickly, and get help from a real live audiologist.
And I was surprised how much data she had about me, my prior hearing test results, appointments, and adjustments.
I got an appointment in 2 days, I was able to choose a time and day that worked for me, and I did it all, including the appointment, right on my iPhone.
In my experience with prescription hearing aids, it generally took a few weeks to get an appointment, there were no options for times unless I wanted to wait more than a few weeks, and I had to drive to the audiologist’s office (and get dressed and pay to park).
Yet another reason to consider OTC.