The best and worst hearing aid brands, according to Consumer Reports and others

Hearing loss is one of the most undertreated medical conditions in the U.S. Close to 30 million American adults have some degree of hearing loss, according to the FDA, yet only about one in five people who could benefit from hearing aids actually use them. Cost is a major barrier. Stigma is another. And for years, the requirement to see an audiologist just to get a device created one more layer of friction between people and better hearing.

That changed in October 2022 when the FDA established a category for over-the-counter hearing aids, which allowed adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss to buy devices without a prescription, a professional fitting, or a clinic visit. The rule opened the market to a new wave of direct-to-consumer brands, brought prices down significantly, and gave millions of people a faster, cheaper path to treatment. It also complicated the question of which brands are actually worth buying.

The prescription market remains larger and more complex. Devices from the major manufacturers are fitted and programmed by audiologists and can cost anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000 or more per pair. They cover a wider range of hearing loss severity, offer more customization, and come with professional support. But "more expensive" and "better" are not the same thing. Consumer Reports surveyed more than 13,000 of its members about their hearing aid experiences, rating 17 prescription brands and three over-the-counter brands on reliability, comfort, sound quality, value, and performance in different listening situations. The results make clear that brand name and price point are unreliable proxies for satisfaction.

Some of the highest-rated brands, both prescription and OTC, are available at Costco $COST for a fraction of what comparable devices cost at traditional audiology clinics. Some of the lowest-rated brands charge premium prices while delivering middling results. And no hearing aid, regardless of brand or price, does a very good job in a loud, noisy group environment. That's a category-wide limitation, not a flaw unique to any one maker.

This list covers both sides of the market — the brands worth considering and the ones that fall short — drawing on Consumer Reports member survey data, independent lab testing, and audiologist reviews. If you or someone you know is navigating the hearing aid market, here is what the evidence actually shows.

Credit: Phonak

Phonak is a Swiss hearing aid manufacturer founded in 1947, now part of the Sonova Group, the world's largest hearing aid company. The company is a global leader in prescription hearing aids known for advanced AI-driven sound processing and Bluetooth connectivity. Consumer Reports members ranked Phonak among the top five prescription brands in its member satisfaction survey of 17 brands.

The brand's current flagship is the Audéo Infinio Ultra Sphere, which builds on the original Infinio Sphere released in 2024. The hearing aid delivers standout speech clarity in loud, noisy places, with improved battery life, better connectivity, and a new EasyGuard eartip system. In October 2025, Phonak launched a firmware update to existing Infinio Sphere devices that improves battery efficiency, environmental noise sensing, and speech clarity.

The AI processing at the heart of these devices is not just a marketing feature. Independent HearAdvisor lab results confirm the Ultra Sphere ranks among the top 5 percent of prescription hearing aids tested. That kind of third-party verification is worth noting in a market where claims of "breakthrough" technology are routine.

Phonak does not publish prices on its website, and costs vary by provider. Prescription hearing aids in the Phonak range cost from $3,500 to $10,000 per pair on average, and the over-the-counter models cost $699 to $999. That is on the higher end of the prescription market, and it is the main knock on the brand. Spending $6,000 on a pair of hearing aids is a serious financial commitment, and some user reviews note reliability concerns — including battery failures and connectivity issues — that are difficult to accept at premium prices.

Phonak's hearing aids are available from hearing centers and audiologist offices in more than 100 countries, with a locator map on the company's website to find a local dealer. The breadth of that network is a practical advantage: if something goes wrong, getting support does not require shipping devices across the country or waiting weeks for a clinic appointment.

For people with mild to profound hearing loss who want a professionally fitted device with strong lab-validated performance in noise, Phonak is a defensible choice. The price is real, but so is the performance data behind it.

Credit: Oticon

Oticon was founded in 1904 and has since diversified its offerings to meet the changing needs of people with hearing loss. Today, Oticon devices are known for their natural sound quality and innovative technology that addresses common hearing aid complaints like wind noise and microphone static.

Consumer Reports ranked Oticon among the five best-performing prescription brands in its member satisfaction survey, citing strong scores for reliability, sound clarity, and performance in quiet, one-on-one conversations. That aligns with the brand's longstanding reputation among audiologists, who tend to recommend it for people who prioritize natural-sounding audio.

The technology behind Oticon's devices is called BrainHearing, which helps the brain — not just the ears — process sound more effectively. The idea is that hearing fatigue is partly a cognitive load problem: when a hearing aid does too much filtering, the brain loses access to the full sound scene it needs to make sense of conversations. Oticon's approach tries to preserve more of the surrounding sound environment while still prioritizing speech — a philosophy that distinguishes it from brands focused on more aggressive noise suppression.

Oticon is the world's second-largest hearing aid manufacturer and offers dozens of premium models across 11 different series. The current flagship is the Intent, which runs on the Sirius platform with deep neural network processing and 4D sensor technology that detects head and body movement to adjust audio settings automatically.

Oticon hearing aids cost around $2,500 to $7,500, and must be purchased through a local audiologist. The upside is a support network of thousands of dealers across the U.S., providing accessible follow-up care if a problem arises.

One practical note: most Oticon devices have tinnitus features built into the software, making them a strong choice for people who experience both hearing loss and tinnitus. That is a meaningful differentiator. Many people with age-related hearing loss also deal with ringing or buzzing in the ears, and having tinnitus masking integrated rather than sold as a separate add-on reduces both cost and complexity.

Credit: Jabra

Jabra Enhance is the rare prescription hearing aid brand that appears twice in Consumer Reports' ratings — once as a prescription device available at Costco $COST, and once as an OTC device sold directly online. In both categories, it ranked at or near the top. Consumer Reports members gave it the highest marks among prescription brands for value, and it earned the top rating among the three OTC brands surveyed.

The prescription version, the Jabra Enhance Pro 30, is sold exclusively at Costco Hearing Centers and requires a professional fitting. The Pro 30 is the most expensive option at Costco at $1,699 per pair but is still at a fraction of the cost of comparable premium hearing aids sold elsewhere. That price includes a free hearing test, a professional fitting, follow-up appointments, and Costco's standard three-year repair warranty with a 180-day return window.

What makes the Pro 30 stand out technologically is its dual-chip design. In addition to a standard sound processor, the Pro 30 includes a second chip dedicated to background noise management using onboard artificial intelligence trained on more than 13 million real-world speech samples. That second processor powers a "Hear in Noise" program that makes conversations in restaurants, conferences, and other busy environments noticeably clearer.

The OTC version, the Jabra Enhance Select 700, features Bluetooth Low Energy audio and Auracast technology, which allows connection to public broadcast systems and streams audio directly to the hearing instruments without draining the battery. It is worth noting that Auracast currently works only with select Android devices. Apple $AAPL has not yet adopted the standard.

Jabra is a brand under GN, the same parent company as ReSound. The connection matters for quality assurance: GN is one of the largest global hearing aid manufacturers, and Jabra's technology draws on that engineering foundation. The brand only offers behind-the-ear models, limiting options for people who prioritize discretion. But for the combination of professional care and competitive pricing, Jabra is difficult to beat.

Credit: Rexton

Rexton is one of those brands that most consumers only encounter at Costco $COST. It does not advertise widely, does not have a celebrity ambassador, and is not the subject of glossy magazine features. What it does have is solid technology at a price well below what traditional audiology clinics charge for comparable devices.

Rexton is manufactured by WS Audiology, the world's third-largest hearing aid manufacturer, alongside Widex and Signia. During testing, the brand's Reach platform delivered sound clarity in challenging environments and strong battery life at a competitive price point.

Consumer Reports ranked Rexton among its top five prescription brands for overall member satisfaction, and specifically singled it out — along with Jabra and Philips — for earning top marks on value. That is the same pattern: the Costco brands punch above their weight because the warehouse model keeps margins low without sacrificing underlying technology.

The Rexton Reach R-Li T is a premium receiver-in-canal hearing aid available at Costco for $1,499 per pair. Given its premium features, outstanding battery life, and strong Bluetooth connectivity, it delivers excellent value for the money. The Reach Inox model offers up to 36 hours of use on a single charge, includes a travel charger with three full backup charges, and supports multi-voice focus.

One feature worth noting: the Rexton Reach is one of the only hearing aids at Costco that includes telecoil technology, which improves listening in venues with telecoil loop systems installed, such as churches and theaters. That is a practical advantage for older users who regularly attend religious services, live performances, or community events where loop systems are common.

Bluetooth reliability is the brand's main weakness in user reviews. Some customers report that audio can cut out at a distance from the phone, and that the companion app occasionally needs to be reinstalled. Those are real frustrations, though not unusual in the prescription hearing aid space. The overall value proposition — professional fitting, long follow-up care, and premium features for under $1,500 — is hard to find elsewhere.

Credit: Starkey

Starkey is the only one of the six major global hearing aid companies based in the United States. Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, the brand has built a reputation for hardware innovation, particularly around health monitoring features that no competitor offers.

Starkey created the world's first hearing aid with fall detection, the Evolv AI, in 2021. The technology has continued to improve, first with the Edge AI in 2024, then the Omega AI in 2025. Built-in sensors automatically detect falls and send an alert to up to three emergency contacts. For older adults who live alone or whose families worry about safety, that is a meaningful feature that goes beyond hearing.

The Omega AI, released in late 2025, is the brand's current flagship. HearAdvisor testing gave the Omega AI a tuned score of 4.6 out of 5, earning it a 2025 Expert Choice Award and placing it in the top 25 percent of all devices tested. At the core of Omega AI is a deep neural network system that analyzes the entire sound environment to deliver 360-degree hearing, unlike traditional directional microphones that focus only on sounds in front of the wearer.

That said, Starkey's Consumer Reports scores for value were among the lower half of the prescription brands surveyed. Members rated the brand's performance well but pushed back on what they were paying for it. Prices range from $1,500 to $4,000 per pair depending on technology level and customization. But most insurance plans, including Medicare Parts A and B, do not cover the full cost.

User reviews on TrustPilot and other platforms echo that tension. Some buyers praise the sound quality and support. Others describe premature battery failures and months without a working device while waiting on repairs. At $4,000 to $6,000 for a pair, those experiences sting.

Starkey is a strong brand for older adults who value wellness monitoring and want a U.S.-based company behind their device. It is less compelling for anyone primarily focused on value.

Credit: Eargo

Eargo was one of the first companies to sell hearing aids directly to consumers online, operating in that space before the FDA formally created the OTC category in October 2022. That early start shows in its product design. Eargo has brought some of the only invisible OTC hearing aids to the market. These completely in-canal models sit entirely inside the ear canal, invisible from the side.

Consumer Reports ranked Eargo second among the three OTC brands in its member survey, just behind Jabra. The scores for battery life, durability, and ease of use were comparable to the top-rated prescription brands. That's a meaningful result for devices that cost a fraction of what prescription hearing aids run.

The current lineup includes two main models. The Eargo SE, starting at $1,699, is a simpler device with a 16-hour battery life and a strong focus on comfort and invisibility. The Eargo 8, released in May 2025 and priced at $2,699, adds more sophisticated features. The Eargo 8 includes Smart Sound Adjust, an adaptive sound processing system that learns from the user's listening environments over time to deliver increasingly customized amplification. It also includes Sound Match, which allows wearers to personalize the device's gain based on their own hearing profile.

The brand's limitations are real and worth stating clearly. Eargo devices are designed only for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. They do not include telecoil support, which rules them out for regular users of hearing loop systems. The Eargo SE also does not offer Bluetooth streaming. And the price gap between Eargo and genuinely budget-friendly OTC options is, at $1,699 or more per pair, not cheap.

Consumer Reports data showed that Eargo's value score was middle-of-the-road rather than strong. Buyers who prioritize invisibility and are comfortable with a self-fitting experience will find a capable device here. Those primarily concerned with cost should look at lower-priced OTC alternatives first.

Credit: Miracle-Ear

Miracle-Ear is one of the most recognized names in the hearing aid industry. With more than 1,500 locations across the U.S. and decades of advertising history, the brand has a footprint that most competitors cannot match. That visibility is both its greatest asset and, for informed buyers, a reason to look more carefully at what it actually delivers.

Founded in 1948, Miracle-Ear is one of the largest hearing aid providers in the U.S. and operates under Amplifon, a global hearing care company. It specializes in prescription hearing aids that are often rebranded versions of Signia technology. That last point is significant: consumers paying Miracle-Ear prices are largely getting Signia hardware, which they could potentially access through other providers.

Consumer Reports members put Miracle-Ear at the low end of its prescription brand ratings — and gave it the worst value score of any brand in the survey. That is a damning result. Members who paid premium prices for nationally branded care reported lower satisfaction than those who bought less prominent brands.

A common grievance among users is the steep pricing, ranging from $2,000 to $7,000 per pair. Many customers also complain about hidden service fees and regional price disparities. Some users report frustration with not qualifying for refunds despite the high initial investment.

The brand does have genuine strengths. Its network of locations means professional support is accessible, fitting appointments are convenient, and follow-up care does not require shipping devices or waiting for remote adjustments. For older adults who value in-person service and are less comfortable navigating newer, tech-forward brands, that accessibility has real value.

But for consumers doing their homework, Miracle-Ear's Consumer Reports performance makes it difficult to recommend on value. The hardware behind the brand name is available elsewhere, often at lower cost and with comparable or stronger member satisfaction ratings.

Credit: Beltone

Beltone has been a fixture in the hearing aid industry since 1940. The brand operates through a franchise model, with hundreds of dedicated Beltone locations across the U.S. offering hearing tests, fittings, and follow-up care. Beltone's technology has evolved significantly after being acquired by GN (Great Nordic), and the company's hearing aids now share many similarities with ReSound devices.

Consumer Reports members placed Beltone at the lower end of its prescription brand ratings, flagging value as a weak spot. Members who used Beltone reported lower satisfaction with what they paid relative to what they got, a pattern that mirrors the broader critique of franchise-model hearing aid brands.

User reviews on third-party sites like PissedConsumer and ConsumerAffairs paint a more granular picture. Complaints about Beltone tend to cluster around service rather than hardware. Patients describe devices that needed repeated trips to the clinic for adjustments that did not stick, restocking fees charged on returned defective products, and upselling pressure during what were supposed to be routine maintenance visits. One recurring complaint involves aggressive recommendations to purchase new devices during appointments for simple repairs.

It is worth distinguishing between Beltone's devices and its service network. The hardware — shared in many respects with GN's ReSound line — has a reasonable technological foundation. The franchise model, however, introduces variability in the quality of care. Some Beltone franchises draw consistent praise for responsiveness and expertise. Others generate significant complaint volume. Because the brand operates through independent franchise locations, the experience can differ considerably from one market to another.

Beltone hearing aids are priced from $2,800 to $8,000. At those prices, the inconsistency in service quality is a meaningful risk. Prospective buyers should research the specific local franchise — not just the brand — before committing to a purchase.

Credit: Widex

Widex is a Danish hearing aid brand with a devoted following among audiophiles and musicians. The company has long marketed its devices on the basis of sound fidelity — and more specifically on the claim that Widex hearing aids produce a more natural, wider frequency response than competitors. That reputation is not unfounded. Audiologists who work with professional musicians and people who are particular about audio quality often point to Widex as the preferred option.

Consumer Reports members placed Widex at the lower end of its prescription brand ratings. Value was the central issue: members reported lower satisfaction with the cost-to-performance ratio compared to top-ranked brands. Given that Widex devices can cost $3,000 to $7,500 per pair, that dissatisfaction carries real financial weight.

The brand's current flagship line is the Widex Allure. Allure devices are professionally fitted and fine-tuned by a hearing care provider, ensuring sound is customized to the exact hearing profile and preferences of the wearer. The Allure supports Bluetooth connectivity and hands-free streaming, with rechargeable options and a range of form factors.

The practical limitation of Widex — and the likely driver of its lower value scores — is that it commands a price premium that only makes sense for a specific type of buyer. For someone who primarily needs help following conversations in noisy environments, the brand's emphasis on audio fidelity is not a meaningful differentiator. Consumer Reports data showed that no hearing aid brand, including the top-rated ones, does a good job in loud group settings. Widex's philosophy pays off most in quiet listening situations, but most hearing aids already perform reasonably well there.

That mismatch between what the brand emphasizes and what most hearing aid users actually need is likely what's driving the value dissatisfaction in Consumer Reports data. Widex is a good product for a specific buyer with specific needs and a high budget. For most people shopping for a first hearing aid, it is probably not the right fit.

Credit: Amazon

MDHearing occupies a distinct position in the over-the-counter market: it is one of the most affordable hearing aid brands available, and it is also one of the few OTC brands with enough Consumer Reports survey respondents to earn a formal rating. That combination makes it worth examining carefully, because its scores reveal something useful about what you give up when price is the primary filter.

Consumer Reports members gave MDHearing the lowest of the three OTC brands rated. Members reported weaker performance on sound richness and clarity, durability, and ease of use compared to the other OTC options. Those are not minor categories. Sound clarity and ease of use are arguably the two most important variables for a first-time hearing aid user. At the same time, Consumer Reports members gave MDHearing solid scores for value, battery life, and ease of charging.

MDHearing offers FDA-registered OTC hearing aids with prices ranging from $297 to $597 per pair. That is a fraction of what Eargo or Jabra charge, and an order of magnitude less than most prescription devices. For people who genuinely cannot afford more expensive options, that price point opens a door that would otherwise be closed.

The lineup centers on a few models with different technology tiers. The entry-level devices use preset programs and manual volume controls. The brand's more advanced model, the VOLT MAX, adds smartphone connectivity and app-based customization. The VOLT MAX connects via Bluetooth, allowing remote adjustment of noise reduction and equalizer settings through the MDHearing app.

Independent lab testing has found variation within the MDHearing lineup worth noting. In university lab testing covering 26 OTC hearing aids, MDHearing's in-ear devices performed reasonably well, though the behind-the-ear models significantly over-amplified sounds. That finding suggests model selection matters more with MDHearing than with brands that maintain more consistent performance across their product lines. Users considering the brand should look carefully at which specific model they are buying, not just the brand name.

Some users have reported feedback and squealing issues with certain models in noisy environments, a problem that higher-end OTC and prescription devices handle more effectively through advanced signal processing. MDHearing's lower price point means less sophisticated noise management technology, and that trade-off is most apparent in the situations where hearing aids matter most: busy restaurants, crowded gatherings, and other loud environments.

MDHearing is not the right choice for someone who expects performance comparable to a well-fitted prescription device. It is a reasonable starting point for someone with mild hearing loss who wants to try amplification at minimal financial risk, particularly given the 45-day trial period the company offers. As Consumer Reports data makes clear, the brand delivers on value and charging convenience. On the dimensions that most determine whether a hearing aid actually improves someone's daily life, it falls short of its OTC competition.