How much does a hearing test cost, and is it covered?

A comprehensive hearing test costs about $150 if you pay out of pocket. In a 2024 national price study commissioned by CareCredit, the average was $151, with a range of $116 to $279 depending on location and provider ^[1].

With Medicare, the math is very different. Part B covers a diagnostic hearing test, and Medicare's 2026 national payment rate for a comprehensive test in an office is $35.74 ^[2]. After you meet the $283 Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the approved amount, which works out to about $7 ^[3][5].

The catch is that "hearing test" can mean three different things: a free screening, a diagnostic evaluation, or a hearing aid evaluation. Each one is priced and covered differently.

Hearing test prices at a glance

The table compares two numbers for each service: the average price in the 2024 CareCredit study ^[1], and the national amount Medicare pays in 2026 ^[2]. The Medicare figure is the base rate for an office setting, before CMS adjusts it for local costs ^[2].

Service (procedure code)	Average price, 2024 study [1]	Medicare 2026 national rate [2]	Your Medicare share after the deductible
Comprehensive hearing test (92557)	$151 (range $116 to $279)	$35.74	About $7
Tympanometry (92567)	$23	$16.03	About $3
Tinnitus assessment (92625)	$121	$65.80	About $13
Hearing screening (V5008)	Not reported	Not covered by Medicare	Full price
Hearing aid assessment (V5010)	Not reported	Not covered by Medicare	Full price

The Medicare rates come from CMS's 2026 relative value file: each code's relative value units multiplied by the $33.4009 conversion factor ^[2]. CMS lists the screening and hearing aid assessment codes with status "N," meaning Medicare doesn't cover them ^[2].

The study's prices are averages from a commercial survey, not a quote. Hospital clinics may add a facility charge, and in a hospital outpatient department Medicare patients also owe the hospital a copayment ^[3].

Screening or diagnostic test: know what you're getting

A hearing screening is a quick check to see whether you may have hearing loss. You pass or fail, and it doesn't diagnose anything ^[6]. If you don't pass, the next step is a full evaluation with an audiologist ^[6]. Our free online hearing check works the same way: it can tell you whether to book a test, not what your hearing loss is.

A diagnostic hearing evaluation is done by an audiologist and tailored to you. It looks at whether you have hearing loss, what type, the likely cause, how severe it is in each ear, and what your options are ^[6]. This is the test you need before buying prescription hearing aids. For a walk-through of each part, see what happens at a hearing test.

Routine screening isn't a standard part of preventive care for adults. In 2021 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded that the evidence is insufficient to weigh the benefits and harms of screening adults 50 and older who have no symptoms ^[7]. If you or your family notice signs of hearing loss, that's a reason to get a diagnostic test, not a screening.

What Medicare covers

Covered: diagnostic hearing and balance exams that a provider orders to find out whether you need medical treatment ^[3].

The order rule and its exception. Medicare generally requires a physician's order for audiology services ^[4]. Since January 1, 2023, you can see an audiologist without an order once every 12 months ^[4]. That only applies to non-acute conditions, such as gradual hearing loss, or to tests related to hearing loss treated with a surgically implanted device ^[3]. Balance problems still need an order ^[4].

Your cost. You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026 ^[3][5]. If you haven't met the deductible yet this year, you pay the approved amount yourself, and it counts toward the $283. Using the national rate, that's about $36 for a comprehensive test before the deductible is met, or about $7 after ^[2][5]. Your total can depend on other insurance, the provider's charges, whether the provider accepts assignment, and the type of facility ^[3].

Not covered: hearing aids and the exams for fitting them ^[10], and hearing screenings ^[2].

Your "Welcome to Medicare" visit. The Initial Preventive Physical Exam includes a review of your functional ability, and hearing impairment is one of the items on that list ^[8]. It's a good moment to mention any hearing trouble and ask for an order for a full test.

For hearing aid coverage under Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, see does Medicare cover hearing aids.

Other ways to pay for a hearing test

Medicare Advantage. These plans can add routine hearing coverage that Original Medicare lacks. 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 ^[11]. Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage for how many routine exams it pays for each year, your copay, and whether you must use a network provider.

Private insurance. Plans differ on referrals, networks and whether a test counts as a specialist visit. Call your insurer before you book and give them the procedure code 92557 so they can quote your cost.

VA health care. Veterans enrolled in VA health care can book a hearing evaluation at a VA audiology clinic. See hearing aids through the VA.

HSA, FSA and tax deductions. The IRS defines medical expenses as the costs of diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease ^[9]. A diagnostic hearing test fits that definition, so it can generally be paid from an HSA or FSA, or counted toward an itemized medical deduction. Only the part of your total medical expenses above 7.5% of adjusted gross income is deductible ^[9].

How to keep the cost down

1. Start with a screening if you're unsure. It's a fast way to decide whether a full test is worth booking ^[6].
2. Get an order, or use direct access. On Medicare, ask your primary care provider for an order, or use the once-a-year audiologist visit for gradual hearing loss ^[3][4].
3. Pick an office over a hospital clinic when you can. In a hospital outpatient department, Medicare patients owe the hospital a copayment on top of the 20% ^[3].
4. Ask for the test price on its own. If a clinic bundles testing into a hearing aid package, ask what the test costs if you don't buy aids from them.
5. Get a copy of your audiogram. You paid for it, and you can take it to any other provider for a second opinion or a hearing aid fitting.

Questions to ask before you book

• Is this a screening or a full diagnostic hearing evaluation?
• Who does the test: an audiologist, an ENT doctor or a hearing aid specialist? (Here's how they differ.)
• What is the self-pay price, and what's included: pure-tone testing, speech testing, tympanometry?
• Do you accept Medicare, and do you accept assignment?
• Will I get a copy of my audiogram and results?
• If I need hearing aids, is the hearing aid evaluation a separate charge?

When you're ready, use our hearing provider directory to find an audiologist near you.