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Can I Buy Hearing Aids Without a Prescription?

Use the free tool — Hearing & Vision Help Finder

If this is urgent, stop and get care today

Sudden hearing loss in one ear, sudden vision loss, eye pain, flashes, or a curtain over your vision, or an eye injury need a doctor or the ER today. This guide is about cost and coverage only. It is not medical advice.

Yes — since 2022, for some adults

Since October 2022, the FDA allows adults 18 and older with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss to buy FDA-regulated hearing aids over the counter. No exam. No prescription.

• They are not made for severe hearing loss.
• They are not made for children.
• A hearing test is still a good idea, even though it is not required. This tool does not diagnose you.

Source: FDA — OTC hearing aids.

Florida law gives you a trial period

When you buy hearing aids in Florida, the law requires a trial period and refund terms.

• Ask for the itemized price.
• Ask whether bundled services can be unbundled.
• Ask about the return and trial period — Florida law requires a 30-day trial period for hearing aids.

Source: Fla. Stat. 484.0512.

What Medicare does and doesn't cover

Original Medicare does not cover hearing aids or the exams to fit them, routine eye exams, or eyeglasses and contacts. It does cover diagnostic hearing and balance exams ordered by a doctor, a yearly diabetic eye exam, glaucoma tests for people at high risk, cataract surgery, and one pair of glasses or contacts after that surgery.

Many Medicare Advantage plans add hearing benefits. Compare plans during open enrollment, October 15 through December 7, with free help from Florida SHINE at 1-800-963-5337.

Source: Medicare.gov — Hearing & balance exams · Florida SHINE.

Programs that may help pay

• Local Lions Clubs often help with hearing aids and glasses — contact your local club.
• FTRI gives free amplified and captioned phones to Florida residents with certified hearing loss.
• VA audiology and hearing aids for enrolled veterans.

Confirm eligibility directly with each program. This is not a guarantee of coverage.

What to do next

Type what you need — hearing aids, an exam, or help with cost — your coverage, and your county. The free tool reads your own numbers and situation, not a stranger's example, and tells you what applies to you, with official links.

Hearing & Vision Help Finder is not a doctor or audiologist and can be wrong. It never diagnoses. Confirm coverage with Medicare, your plan, or SHINE. Nothing you type is stored.

Hearing & Vision Help Finder explains coverage and assistance programs in plain language from official sources; it can be wrong, and it is not medical or insurance advice. It recommends no products. Confirm with Medicare, your plan, SHINE or the program itself. Nothing you type is stored.