Free and low-cost hearing aids: programs that actually help

The surest routes to free hearing aids are the VA for eligible veterans and Medicaid in states that cover adults. Some Medicare Advantage plans, income-based nonprofit programs, New Jersey's state programs and vocational rehabilitation can pay for all or part of a pair. If none fit, over-the-counter aids are the cheapest option, and university training clinics can lower the cost of care.

Every program below links to its own official page. Income limits and fees change, so check the source before you apply.

Free and low-cost hearing aid programs at a glance

Program	Who it's for	What it covers	How to apply	Source
VA health care	Veterans enrolled in VA care whom a VA audiologist finds need hearing aids	Hearing aids, repairs and future batteries at no charge	Enroll in VA health care, then book an audiology evaluation	VA [1]
Medicaid	Children under 21 in every state; adults only in some states	Hearing aids, within each state's rules	Through a hearing provider that accepts Medicaid	Medicaid.gov, HLAA [2][3]
Medicare Advantage	Members of a plan with a hearing benefit	Hearing exams, hearing aids or both, up to plan limits	Check your plan's benefits; switch plans October 15 to December 7	Medicare.gov, KFF [4][5][6]
Starkey Hear Now	Households with income below Starkey's current limit	Hearing aids and care from a participating provider; $300 fee after you qualify	Online or 855-686-2202	Starkey [7][8]
Miracle-Ear Foundation Gift of Sound	Household income at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines, other resources used up	Hearing aids at no cost; $200 fee for adults 19 and older	Contact a local Miracle-Ear store first	Miracle-Ear Foundation [9]
Lions clubs	Low-income people, under rules set by the local club or state foundation	Varies; Oregon's program supplies new aids for $200 each	Contact your local club or state Lions foundation	Oregon Lions, Denver Lions [10][11]
New Jersey HAAAD and Hearing Aid Project	New Jersey residents 65 and older or on SSDI, under 2026 income limits	Up to $500 back per aid, or free refurbished aids	NJ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing	NJ.gov [12][13]
State vocational rehabilitation	People whose hearing loss is a substantial barrier to getting or keeping a job	Can include hearing aids needed for work	Your state VR agency	U.S. Dept. of Education, Texas VR [14][15]
University training clinics	Anyone; some offer income-based sliding scales	Lower-fee testing and care from supervised students	Call the clinic	Montclair State, Univ. of Cincinnati [16][17]
OTC hearing aids	Adults 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss	The devices; median $200 a pair in a 2025 survey	Buy in stores or online, no exam needed	FDA, HearingTracker [18][19]

Medicaid: free hearing aids in some states

Medicaid must cover hearing aids for children under 21 in every state. Under its EPSDT children's benefit, federal rules require coverage for diagnosis and treatment of hearing problems, including hearing aids ^[2].

For adults, it depends on where you live. Medicaid may cover some hearing aids for adults, and the rules vary by state ^[3]. Our Medicaid hearing aid coverage by state guide tracks each state's current rules, and your state's page in the hearing aid coverage by state section sums them up.

If your state covers adults, ask a hearing provider that accepts Medicaid to handle the request, including any prior approval.

If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, Medicaid's rules usually decide. Original Medicare doesn't pay for hearing aids or the exams to fit them ^[4].

VA hearing aids for veterans

If you're a veteran enrolled in VA health care, this is the most complete free option. When a VA audiologist decides you need them, your hearing aids, repairs and future batteries cost nothing for as long as you stay eligible for VA care ^[1].

To start, enroll in VA health care in person, online with VA Form 10-10EZ, or by mail. Then schedule an audiology evaluation ^[1]. The audiologist makes the clinical call on whether you need hearing aids ^[1].

Our guide to hearing aids through the VA covers who's eligible, battery reorders and tinnitus ratings.

Medicare Advantage plans with hearing benefits

Original Medicare doesn't cover hearing aids or the exams for fitting them, so you pay the full cost ^[4]. Medicare Advantage plans can add extra benefits that Original Medicare lacks, and hearing is one of them ^[4].

KFF found that 98% of individual Medicare Advantage plans offered a hearing benefit in 2026, which it defines as hearing exams, hearing aids or both ^[5]. KFF also notes that the scope of these benefits varies, and that extra benefits usually come with more restrictive provider networks ^[5].

Before you count on a plan's hearing benefit, check:

• The dollar allowance or copay per hearing aid
• Whether you must buy through one network or hearing aid vendor
• Which technology levels the allowance covers
• How often the plan pays for new aids

You can join or switch Medicare Advantage plans during Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7, with coverage starting January 1 ^[6]. Compare hearing benefits in Medicare Advantage hearing networks, and read does Medicare cover hearing aids for the full picture.

National nonprofit and manufacturer programs

These programs are income-based. Most of them charge a fee ^[7][9][10], and some expect you to use insurance and public programs first ^[9][10].

Starkey Hear Now

Hear Now, run by hearing aid maker Starkey through its Starkey Cares program, provides hearing aids and care to people with financial need ^[7]. You qualify if your household income is below the program's current limit ^[7].

You get a hearing test from a participating provider, apply online or by phone at 855-686-2202, and pay a $300 application fee after you qualify. The provider then orders and fits your hearing aids ^[7][8].

Miracle-Ear Foundation Gift of Sound

The Gift of Sound program provides hearing aids at no cost to people who qualify ^[9]. The rules ^[9]:

• Hearing loss that needs hearing aids
• Household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines
• Turned down for the financing offered at the Miracle-Ear store
• Other resources used up, such as insurance, Medicaid, VA benefits and charity programs
• U.S. or Puerto Rico resident or citizen

Adults 19 and older pay a $200 application fee by cashier's check or money order. Children 18 and under pay nothing. You start by contacting a local Miracle-Ear store, and adults who still qualify can reapply every five years ^[9].

Lions clubs

Lions hearing help is local. Clubs and state Lions foundations set their own rules and funding, so what you get depends on where you live ^[10][11].

Two examples show the range. Oregon's ROAR program supplies new hearing aids to adults with household income at or below 200% of the poverty guidelines who can't get free aids through the Oregon Health Plan. Recipients pay $200 for one aid or $400 for two, and payment plans may be available ^[10]. In Denver, the Lions Club's hearing committee checks whether you're income-qualified, and the club may pay for hearing aids, fitting fees or both ^[11].

To apply, contact your local Lions club or your state's Lions foundation.

State hearing aid programs

Be wary of online lists of "free hearing aids in these states." Some state agencies keep resource lists but don't pay for hearing aids themselves. Utah's Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, for example, says it does not provide funding toward hearing aid purchases and keeps a list of outside resources instead ^[20].

New Jersey does pay, through two programs for older and disabled residents.

Hearing Aid Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (HAAAD). HAAAD reimburses up to $500 for one hearing aid or $1,000 for two in a calendar year ^[12]. To qualify, you must ^[12]:

• Have hearing loss and live in New Jersey
• Be over 65, or 18 to 64 and receiving Social Security Disability benefits
• Be enrolled in PAAD or Lifeline, or meet their age, residency and income rules
• Have 2026 income no greater than $54,943 if single or $62,390 if married

HAAAD doesn't pay if Medicaid, another health insurer or retirement benefits cover your hearing aids. Partial coverage may still allow a reimbursement ^[12].

New Jersey Hearing Aid Project (NJHAP). This program gives free refurbished hearing aids to New Jersey residents who are 65 or older or receiving SSDI, under the same 2026 income limits ^[13]. PAAD members apply with Form A, and everyone else uses Form B ^[13].

State vocational rehabilitation, if you work

Each state runs a federally funded vocational rehabilitation (VR) program to help people with disabilities work ^[14]. You're eligible if you have an impairment that is a substantial barrier to employment and you need VR services to work. When an agency can't serve everyone who qualifies, people with the most significant disabilities come first ^[14].

For hearing loss, VR services can include hearing aids. Texas, for example, lists hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive technology among its services for people whose hearing affects their ability to prepare for, get, keep or advance in a job ^[15].

This route fits people who are working or looking for work.

University audiology training clinics

Universities that train audiologists often run public clinics where graduate students see patients under licensed supervisors. Fees tend to be lower.

• Montclair State University (New Jersey). Audiology doctoral students do assessments under the close supervision of state-licensed audiologists. Services carry a reduced fee, and a sliding scale is available to people who meet financial rules. Fees still apply to all services and products ^[16].
• University of Cincinnati. Its Speech & Hearing Clinic offers free comprehensive hearing exams to anyone in the Greater Cincinnati community. Other services are on an income-based sliding scale ^[17].

"University clinic" doesn't automatically mean cheap. In a 2025 buyer survey, hospital or university clinics averaged about $3,941 a pair ^[19]. Ask specifically for the teaching clinic and its fee schedule.

OTC hearing aids: the low-cost route

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are for adults 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. You don't need an exam or prescription, and they aren't meant for severe or profound loss ^[18].

They cost far less. In HearingTracker's 2025 survey of 879 buyers, the median pair cost $200 over the counter, $1,600 at Costco and $5,000 at a traditional clinic for people paying without insurance ^[19].

The trade-off is support. FDA rules don't require a warranty, though the package must state the return policy or say there is none ^[18]. Read OTC hearing aids: who they're for before you buy.

Amplified and captioned phones from your state

If phone calls are the hardest part, your state may help you get an amplified or captioned phone. These programs don't buy hearing aids, but they can cover or lower the equipment cost.

• California. The state's Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program gives out specialized phone equipment, including amplified phones and CapTel captioned phones, to residents who have trouble hearing, seeing, moving, speaking, learning or remembering. California Relay Service is free ^[21].
• Texas. The Specialized Telecommunications Assistance Program (STAP) gives vouchers toward specialized phone equipment to Texas residents whose disability affects phone use. An authorized certifier must confirm the disability, and you generally wait five years between vouchers ^[22].

For other states, ask your state's office for deaf and hard of hearing services, or start from your state's page in our hearing aid coverage by state section.

Paying with an HSA or FSA

A health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) won't make hearing aids free, but it lets you pay with pre-tax money. The IRS counts the cost of a hearing aid, plus the batteries, repairs and maintenance needed to run it, as a medical expense ^[23]. HSA withdrawals and FSA reimbursements used for qualified medical expenses aren't taxed ^[24].

If you itemize, you can deduct only the part of total medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income ^[23]. See private insurance and hearing aids for plan coverage.

Financing traps: deferred interest

Many clinics offer medical credit cards. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that many of these cards offer deferred interest for six to 18 months. If any balance remains when the promotion ends, you're charged all the interest that built up since the purchase date ^[25].

The typical medical credit card APR was 26.99%. Between 2015 and 2020, people paid interest on 20% of healthcare purchases made with deferred-interest products, and on about 34% for people with credit scores below 619 ^[25].

If you finance, ask for a true 0% installment plan, or set payments to clear the balance before the promotion ends. Our hearing aid cost guide shows how to compare quotes.

Red flags: "free hearing aid" offers that aren't

• "Government stimulus" or official-looking seals. In 2020, the FTC and Wisconsin warned a hearing aid seller whose ads promised stimulus money and placed the Great Seal of the United States next to "FREE HEARING AIDS" ^[26]. Report offers like this at ReportFraud.ftc.gov ^[26].
• "Medicare will pay for your hearing aids." Original Medicare doesn't cover hearing aids ^[4]. Only a Medicare Advantage plan's hearing benefit might.
• "FDA registered" or "FDA certified." The FDA says these claims may be misleading ^[18].
• A "free" test that's really a sales visit. One national chain's fine print says its free test is to see whether you may benefit from hearing aids, and that the offer isn't available to people with private or federal health insurance ^[27].
• Fees paid to a middleman. Real programs can charge fees, such as Starkey's $300 and the Miracle-Ear Foundation's $200 ^[7][9]. Pay only the program itself, by the method it lists.
• No trial period. The FTC advises trying hearing aids before you buy and notes that most states require a 30- to 60-day trial period ^[28].
• "No interest" that's really deferred interest. Read the promotion terms before you sign ^[25].

Where to start

1. Veteran? Apply for VA health care first ^[1].
2. On Medicaid? Check your state's adult rules in our state-by-state Medicaid guide.
3. On Medicare? Check your Medicare Advantage plan's hearing benefit, and compare plans during Open Enrollment if yours has none ^[6].
4. Low income and none of the above? Ask about Hear Now at a participating provider, apply to Gift of Sound through a Miracle-Ear store, and call your local Lions club. New Jersey residents should check HAAAD and NJHAP.
5. Working or job hunting? Contact your state VR agency.
6. Mild to moderate hearing loss on a tight budget? Get a low-cost hearing test at a university clinic, then consider OTC aids. See what a hearing test costs.

To see what you'd likely pay out of pocket, try our hearing aid cost estimator. When you're ready, find a hearing provider near you and ask which of these programs they accept.