I’ve written quite a few posts about hearing aids. I’ve test driven a few pairs and I’ve compared both the quality of the hearing improvement and the hearing aid support that I received.
Overall, I think I’ve represented the OTC experience as positive, but I’m not sure I’ve come out and stated
Yes, You Should Buy OTC Hearing Aids!!!
What is OTC
OTC is over-the-counter. In the old days, we could only get hearing aids from an audiologist. This process typically involved getting a referral from our primary care doctor, setting up an ear, nose and throat doctor appointment, and then setting up an audiologist appointment, taking a hearing test, making another appointment to get fitted for hearing aids… and at this point, many are saying “my hearing’s not that bad, I’ll live with it.”
And this is before the $4,000 plus price tag.
Our Alternatives
The process was difficult. I went through it with my first pair. I get it. It’s also an awful lot of money. Some health insurers cover hearing aids, but most don’t. So we’re paying the whole amount out-of-pocket.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a better way?
There is.
A few years back the FDA approved over-the-counter hearing aid sales. This means we can go online and shop.
There are limits on how much OTC hearing aids can amplify, so those with severe hearing loss may be out of luck. My hearing loss is at the high end of moderate, approaching severe, and OTC works great for me.
There are many flavors of OTC and a few things to know, so saddle-up!
I Need Help
No, not me, but this is a typical response when I’ve asked someone why they went with a local audiologist instead of OTC.
One thing I will say for the non-OTC route is that before I even got sent to the audiologist, my primary care doctor sent me to an ear, nose and throat specialist. I got a thorough going over, including an MRI to make sure that something else hadn’t triggered my hearing loss.
Here’s the secret. You can still do this and buy OTC.
For those who are going through this for the first time or feel like they need a little extra help, we can go through the whole in-person process with doctors and stop just short of buying.
And all of these visits should be covered by insurance. It was in my case.
I Can Do It Myself
For those who are comfortable with DIY. This is a piece of cake.
It starts with a hearing test. Most OTC hearing sites have a test we can take for free. All we need is some headphones or earbuds. Apple has a great one on the iPhone for those with the AirPods Pro 2. I’ve taken quite a few of these. They are all virtually identical to the test results I got from my audiologist.
Try one here at Soundly.
So now we know. Many of us have hearing loss and don’t know it. I didn’t. My wife got tired of telling me to turn down the TV. I went for a test and surprise, surprise…moderate to severe hearing loss.
Shopping
Whether we started with an online hearing test, or we went to our primary, our ear, nose and throat, our audiologist…however we got here, it’s now time to shop. Yay!
Soundly is a great place to start. They review hundreds of hearing aids. Both OTC and prescription. We can compare styles, shapes, and quality. They even have a feature where we can hear what the hearing aids sound like.
We can also go directly to vendor sites and shop. I shopped at jabra, hear.com and Lexie by Bose, but there are countless others.
That’s a Lot of $$$
Here’s another concern I hear quite a bit. Hearing aids aren’t cheap. Whether I’m paying hundreds or thousands of dollars, that’s a big chunk of change and I want to see them first and I want some expert advice.
Good for you.
It is a lot of money. And we should see them try them, and we should have some help.
The good news is we get all 3 with OTC.
Try Them
Every reputable manufacturer offers a free trial period.
See the 45 day trial. This is legit. I’ve tried and sent back the Lexie B2 by Bose and the Horizon IX by hear.com. No hassles. Don’t be afraid to try.
Trial
Let’s start with the Lexie by Bose.
I went online, entered my info and within a week, I had my new hearing aids. I had to pay with a credit card to get them.
I downloaded the app and it was super-simple to set them up and adjust them. I had questions so I went to the help section of the app and requested a call back. Within 10 minutes I had a live person on the line to help me.
I had both the Lexie B2 and the Jabra Enhance 500 together at the same time and compared them for a few weeks. Ultimately the Lexie’s went back. They were a lot cheaper at $999 (and I had gotten a $300 promotional discount on top of that) than the Jabra at $1,999, but I found the Jabras better for me.
I sent the Lexies back with the included shipping label and my payment was refunded. Piece of cake.
Trial 2
Hear.com is the flagship of home hearing remote support.
Lexie was simple and I could get a live support person whenever I needed.
Hear.com sends the clinic-in-a-box.
I got a huge box with a tablet computer, headphones, a lighted device that let’s the online audiologist look in my ear, and lots of other stuff.
With the tablet, I set up an appointment and an audiologist came on and did a full exam including a hearing test and using the lighted device to look in my ears. It was easily as comprehensive as my local exam.
I had follow-ups set up every 2 weeks or so to check in and make remote adjustments.
For anyone who wants extra help. This is a fantastic solution.
Cost
I’ve seen reputable hearing aids (those with a free trial) as low as $399 and as high as $2,500.
The AirPods Pro 2 can be found on sale for under $200 and they have a hearing aid feature, but they don’t have the battery life of a traditional hearing aid and they aren’t comfortable (for me) for all day wearing, so I’m not including them.
Prescription hearing aids will likely cost us $3,500 or more.
Is OTC Worthwhile?
I think it is.
Buying OTC doesn’t preclude us from going to our primary care physician, getting checked out by an ear, nose and throat doctor and even seeing an audiologist – though the audiologist works on commission and will likely be unhappy if we don’t buy, so maybe stop at ear, nose and throat.
With OTC, we can see and try before we buy. Technically, we’ll most likely need to pay before they ship them to us, but I’ve had good luck with the free trials. No questions asked when I decided to send them back and prompt refund.
We can try several. An audiologist may not allow this. The OTC business model is built around higher volume and online sales. They couldn’t survive without providing an easy return. Not so for the audiologist. They’ve been the only game in town for a long time and haven’t had to be accommodating.
Quick Note: I noticed that Lexie sells refurbished hearing aids at a discount. They’re taking the ones I tried and returned, cleaning them, replacing some parts and checking them over and discounting. Fabulous!
You can get help. OTC is known as a self-service option, but with Jabra, Lexie and hear.com, I could speak to an audiologist whenever I needed.
Any hearing aid will make a huge difference. They all amplify sound and can be configured to our specific needs. You will hear better with them.
I’m picky, especially when it comes to listening to music so I tried 3 different pairs from 3 different vendors. I spent hours in my car with the window rolled up switching between hearing aids. Read my posts. There are lots of thoughts on the 3 I tried, along with other cool hearing stuff.
Here’s an example. The Lexie B2 by Bose was nearly as good as the Jabra’s. I got the Lexie B2 for $699. It performed better than my 2016 Oticons that were fitted by an audiologist. So yes. $3,000 in savings for a better product makes sense.
Most come with a warranty. I get 3 years on my Jabras. I dove into a pool with them on and they replaced them for free. You get this once. Next time it’s on me.
Wrap Up
Hearing is important. Aside from the annoyance of saying huh? all the time, hearing health is tightly linked to brain health.
The prescription process can be slow and cumbersome. I can go through the online process in an hour.
If I’m not happy, I can easily return them and try another.
Check out my posts for detailed reviews, specifics on my return experience, more on the clinic-in-a-box, and TV streaming. Hooking up a streamer so I could send TV sound directly to my hearing aids while my wife listened to the TV output at normal volumes is life-changing.
OTC is awesome. Please try it. What have you got to lose?