Does Medicare cover it?
Does Medicare cover hearing aids?
No. Original Medicare leaves the full price of hearing aids and their fitting to you, but Part B does pay for a diagnostic hearing test. The tool below prices both: the aids at the quote you received, minus any plan allowance, and the test at 2026 rates.
What this service costs you
You pay · Not covered by Original Medicare
$0
Original Medicare does not pay for it: you pay the full price. Medigap does not cover it either.
How this is calculatedOriginal Medicare, meaning Part A and Part B, does not pay for hearing aids and does not pay for the exams used to fit them, so the price of the devices, the fitting appointments and later adjustments is entirely yours, whatever the degree of hearing loss. What Part B does cover is a diagnostic hearing and balance exam that your doctor or another provider orders to find out whether you need medical treatment. At national 2026 rates that exam has a Medicare-approved amount of $36 in an office, so your 20% comes to $7 once the $283 Part B deductible is behind you; if it is your first Part B bill of the year, the deductible absorbs it and you pay $36. In a hospital outpatient department the hospital adds its own fee, the test is approved $157 and you pay $31. Once every 12 months you may see an audiologist without an order for hearing loss that has built up over many years. Medigap pays nothing toward the aids, since it only shares costs Medicare approves. Some Medicare Advantage plans add a hearing benefit; enter its allowance in the tool to see what remains.
Hearing aids and the hearing test
Hearing aids: you pay
$0
| Original Medicare pays for the aids | $0 |
| Diagnostic hearing test, approved | $36 |
| Your 20% of the test | $7 |
Costs computed by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the costs are calculated
The devices and the test are two separate questions
People often ask whether Medicare covers hearing aids when they really need two answers. The first concerns the devices: Original Medicare does not pay for hearing aids, nor for the appointments in which an audiologist selects, programs and fits them. The second concerns the diagnosis: Part B pays for a hearing and balance exam when a provider orders it to decide whether you need medical treatment. The two can happen in the same clinic, a few days apart, and still be billed under completely different rules.
| What you get | Medicare-approved amount | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing aids and fitting exams | None | Full price |
| Diagnostic hearing test, office, deductible met | $36 | $7 |
| Same test, first Part B bill of the year | $36 | $36 |
| Same test, hospital outpatient department | $157 | $31 |
What makes a hearing exam diagnostic
The word that matters on the order is treatment. Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams, including balance checks for fall risk, when your doctor or another health care provider orders them to find out whether you need medical care. A test meant to measure your loss so that a device can be chosen and adjusted falls on the other side of the line, together with the hearing aids themselves.
There is one shortcut. Once every 12 months you can book an audiologist directly, with no order, for a non-acute condition such as hearing loss that has developed slowly over the years, or for diagnostic services related to hearing loss treated with a surgically implanted device. Outside that yearly visit, an order is what makes the exam payable by Part B.
Where the test is done changes your share
In an audiologist's or doctor's office there is one bill, the professional fee, and you owe 20% of it. In a hospital outpatient department the professional fee is lower but the hospital adds a facility charge, and you pay a hospital copayment on top of your 20%. At national rates that turns $7 into $31 for the same test. Office fees also follow local costs: the test leaves you $8 in Manhattan and $7 in most of Alabama with the deductible met. Choose your state and price area in the tool above to see your own figure.
Paying for the aids yourself
Because hearing aids are not a Medicare-covered item, there is no approved amount, no 20% and no limit on what a seller may charge. Whatever you are quoted is what you owe under Original Medicare. The same goes for the fitting appointments and the follow-up adjustments, which Medicare treats as part of the same non-covered service.
Ask for the price in writing before you commit, and ask what it includes. A quote that bundles the devices with several follow-up visits is easier to compare with another one that bills each visit separately. Medicare's own advice applies here: when a provider recommends something, ask why, and ask what Medicare will actually pay, since you could end up with costs you did not expect.
A year of what Medicare leaves out
You pay
$0
| Billed | $0 |
| Original Medicare pays | $0 |
| Allowances | $0 |
Help that comes from outside Original Medicare
Medicare names the places where hearing coverage can come from. Some Medicare Advantage plans include extra benefits that Original Medicare lacks, hearing among them, and so may a Medicare Cost plan or a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Other health coverage, for example through an employer, may also pay part of the cost. An Advantage plan must give you at least the coverage of Original Medicare, so the diagnostic test stays covered there too, with the plan's own copay.
A plan's hearing benefit usually takes the form of an allowance or a set price. Type the allowance and the quote into the tool above: it subtracts one from the other and shows the rest as yours. Medigap works differently. It fills gaps in costs that Medicare approves, which means it can pay your share of a diagnostic test but not a cent of the hearing aids.
Assignment and the price of the test
An audiologist who accepts assignment takes the Medicare-approved amount as full payment and can bill you only the deductible and the 20%. One who does not accept assignment may charge up to 15% above the amount Medicare allows for non-participating providers. For the office test at national rates, that moves your bill from $7 to $12. The gap is small on a single test, but the question costs nothing to ask when you book. A provider who has opted out of Medicare entirely is a different case: Medicare pays nothing for the visit, outside emergencies.