Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids? What Original Medicare, Advantage Plans and Other Programs Pay in 2026

This guide is for anyone on Medicare who is starting to miss parts of conversations, and for the adult children helping them sort out the bill. The one thing to know: Original Medicare treats the hearing test and the hearing aid very differently. The test can be covered. The device almost never is, so the real question is which other program, plan or account can help you pay.

What Original Medicare covers vs. what it does not

Here is the short version for 2026. "Original Medicare" means Part A (hospital) and Part B (medical). Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are run by private companies and can add extras.

The $283 Part B deductible and the standard $202.90 monthly Part B premium are the 2026 amounts listed on Medicare.gov.

Why Original Medicare leaves out hearing aids

This is not a paperwork gap or a rule your doctor can work around. Federal law excludes hearing aids from Original Medicare, and the Medicare regulation spells it out: hearing aids, and exams "for the purpose of prescribing, fitting, or changing hearing aids," are excluded. That covers both air conduction and bone conduction hearing aids, according to 42 CFR 411.15(d).

Medicare's own hearing aid page puts it plainly: Medicare doesn't cover hearing aids or exams for fitting them, and you pay all costs. The list of things Original Medicare doesn't cover includes "hearing aids and exams for fitting them."

A Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy will not fill this hole. Medigap helps with your share of costs for services Original Medicare already covers, so it generally has nothing to add when Medicare pays nothing.

Hearing tests: what Part B does pay for

Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams when your doctor or other health care provider orders them to find out whether you need medical treatment. Balance exams matter here too: Medicare describes them as fall risk exams, which is worth knowing if your parent has been dizzy or unsteady.

There is also a shortcut. According to Medicare.gov, you can see an audiologist once every 12 months without an order from your provider, but only for non-acute hearing conditions, or for diagnostic services related to hearing loss treated with surgically implanted hearing devices. For anything else, get an order first.

After you meet the 2026 Part B deductible of $283, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. If the test happens in a hospital outpatient department, you also owe the hospital a copayment.

The cochlear implant exception

Implanted devices are the one place where Medicare does pay for hearing technology. Part B covers some surgically implanted prosthetic devices, "including cochlear implants," according to Medicare's prosthetic devices page. Whether Part A or Part B pays depends on whether the surgery is inpatient or outpatient. For Part B, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the deductible.

The federal rule explains why implants are treated differently from hearing aids. The exclusion does not apply to devices that replace the function of the middle ear, cochlea or auditory nerve. That includes cochlear implants, auditory brainstem implants and certain osseointegrated (bone-anchored) implants. CMS's guide to items not covered under Medicare adds that osseointegrated implants can be covered when a hearing aid is medically inappropriate or can't be used, for example because of chronic disease or severe sensorineural hearing loss.

Implants are for specific kinds of hearing loss, usually severe. Whether one is right for your parent is a decision for an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor and an audiologist, not a cost question.

Medicare Advantage hearing aid coverage

This is where most people on Medicare actually find help. Medicare Advantage plans can offer extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn't cover, and hearing is one of the most common. In 2026, 95% of enrollees in individual Medicare Advantage plans are in a plan that offers hearing exams and/or hearing aids, according to a June 2026 KFF analysis. KFF also found that prior authorization is required for most enrollees for some extra benefits, including hearing exams.

"Offers a hearing benefit" can mean very different things. The most detailed public look at the dollar amounts is older: a 2021 KFF review of plan data. It found:

• Among enrollees in plans with an annual dollar limit on hearing aids, the average limit was $960, ranging from $66 up to $4,000.
• About 60% of enrollees were in plans that charge cost sharing for hearing aids, from $5 up to $3,355.
• 91% were in plans that limit how often you can get new aids. The most common rule was one set per year (58%), then one set every two years (28%) or every three years (14%).

We could not find a newer public dataset with 2026 dollar limits, so treat those figures as a sense of the range, not a promise. Plans also often send their hearing benefit through a specific network or hearing aid company, and the plan's documents will name it. Using a provider outside that arrangement can mean the benefit does not apply.

If you are comparing plans during Open Enrollment for next year, read the hearing section of each plan's Evidence of Coverage, not just the summary flyer.

OTC hearing aids and Medicare

Since the FDA's over-the-counter hearing aid rule took effect on October 17, 2022, adults can buy hearing aids in stores or online without an exam or prescription. The FDA says OTC hearing aids are for people 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. They are not meant for severe or profound loss.

Original Medicare does not pay for OTC hearing aids any more than prescription ones, because the exclusion covers hearing aids of every kind. If your parent has a Medicare Advantage plan, ask whether its hearing benefit or any over-the-counter allowance can be used for OTC hearing aids. Some plans limit the benefit to aids bought through their network.

The FDA lists warning signs that mean you should see a doctor, preferably an ENT, before buying OTC aids:

• Hearing that changed suddenly in the past six months
• Dizziness or a spinning or swaying feeling (vertigo)
• Ringing or buzzing in only one ear, or worse hearing in one ear
• Ear pain, or blood, pus or fluid from the ear in the past six months
• Heavy earwax or a suspected object in the ear

Even without those signs, a Part B covered hearing test is a good first step. It tells you whether OTC aids are a reasonable fit or whether the loss needs a professional fitting.

Other ways to get help paying

Medicaid

If your parent has Medicaid as well as Medicare, check the state's Medicaid rules. Coverage of hearing aids for adults varies by state. In KFF's most recent state survey (2018 data), 27 states plus the District of Columbia reported covering hearing aids and other hearing devices for adults, 18 reported no coverage and five did not report. That data is old, so confirm with your state Medicaid office.

Veterans benefits

Veterans enrolled in VA health care can get hearing aids through VA audiology. According to the VA's Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service, an audiologist decides whether hearing aids are needed after an evaluation, and the aids, repairs and future batteries are provided at no charge as long as you keep your VA health care eligibility.

HSA and FSA money

Hearing aids, batteries, repairs and maintenance count as medical expenses under IRS Publication 502, so you can pay with money in a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA). One catch for people on Medicare: under IRS Publication 969, your HSA contribution limit drops to zero starting the first month you are enrolled in Medicare. You can still spend money already in the account.

How to check your own plan

Because Advantage hearing benefits vary so much, check the specific plan before you buy anything.

1. Read the Evidence of Coverage. This yearly document from the plan lists the hearing benefit, any dollar limit, how often you can get new aids, and which providers you must use. Search it for "hearing."
2. Call the plan. The member services number is on the back of the card. Ask: Is there an allowance per ear or per pair? Do I need prior authorization? Which hearing aid company or providers must I use? Are OTC aids included?
3. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) if you have Original Medicare and want to confirm what Part B will pay for a test.
4. Get free counseling from your local SHIP. State Health Insurance Assistance Programs give free, unbiased Medicare help. Find yours at shiphelp.org.

If you are helping a parent from far away, it can also help to sit in on the call by speakerphone. Our guide to checking on an elderly parent remotely has more ideas, and you can find our other coverage questions in the Medicare section, including whether Medicare covers medical alert systems.