If you have conducted an internet search for hearing aids recently, you’ve probably been inundated by a plethora of options ranging in price from less than $100 to several thousand, even $10,000.

Before showing you the range of options available to treat hearing loss, I want to congratulate you on taking a major step in the right direction: recognizing that you are experiencing a hearing loss and your willingness to do something about it.

Treatment for hearing loss is an investment into your future and not something to be taken lightly.

With this blog post, the hearing care professionals at Fox Valley ENT Associates are providing the information you need regarding treatment for hearing loss in 2025 so that you can make an informed choice.

What to Factor in Before Making a Choice

Right up front, you need to understand that there are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions when it comes to treating your hearing loss.

As you consider your choices, there are several factors that can determine whether or not you are able to meet your better hearing goals. The following questions should help guide your choice:

  • What hearing challenges am I experiencing?
  • How severe is my hearing loss?
  • Do I want/need professional support, or can I do it myself?
  • Is in-person support valuable to me?
  • Is cost a primary or secondary factor for me?

Knowing what you’re looking for helps you narrow your choices to the treatment options that are right for you.

Non-prescription or OTC Treatment Options Available in 2025

The biggest drawback to hearing treatment solutions in this category is the absence of support from a hearing care professional. The best you can hope for is typical customer service support, which is usually not provided locally.

Keep in mind that non-prescription and over-the-counter treatment options are only intended to address mild to moderate hearing loss. To put things into perspective, these options are similar to purchasing a magnifying glass or readers to be able to read but trying to use them in place of prescription lenses.

Before we examine the treatment options in this category, we need to answer an important question.

What is mild to moderate hearing loss?

Mild hearing loss includes a deficiency of 25 to 40 decibels (dB) and is characterized by struggling to understand conversations when there is background noise but otherwise being able to enjoy a one-on-one conversation.

Moderate hearing loss is typically characterized by having to ask others to repeat themselves on a regular basis, especially when talking on a phone, in addition to struggling to hear in a noisy environment. The measured deficiency of moderate hearing loss is between 40 and 69 dB.

OTC Hearing Aids

The assumption is that OTC hearing aids or hearing aids purchased online without a prescription are the same as prescription hearing aids.

However, OTC hearing aids are strictly designed to address only mild to moderate hearing loss.

They are quick and convenient to purchase without a hearing test by a hearing care professional, provide some assistance for mild to moderate hearing loss, and their price typically runs between $800 – $2500.

Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs)

The primary distinction between PSAPs and OTC hearing aids is that they are not classified as hearing aids. They are an amplification tool designed to amplify the sounds around you in specific environments.

Like OTC hearing aids, you don’t need a hearing test or prescription to buy them, customization is limited, and they tend to amplify all sounds equally.

Although they are typically priced at $79 – $1250, they are regulated by consumer organizations (the same companies that regulate electric razors and other electronic gadgets) rather than the FDA.

Earbuds with a Cell Phone App

Thanks to the technology in your smartphone, you can use a smartphone app along with earbuds to provide amplification in certain environments by using technology you may already own.

The Apple AirPods Pro 2 technology we have discussed in previous blog posts falls in this category. It is by far the most advanced solution in this category, including features like voice isolation, hearing tests, and hearing protection. This is a big step in the right direction if you are looking for a budget solution.

Priced at $250, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are toward the upper end of the products offered in this category. Other earbuds are cheaper, but to get features like background noise control, enhanced speech, reducing own-voice amplification, and others, you will have to pay $60 or more for a year’s subscription to the app.

Again, you’re on your own as far as any kind of professional support from a local hearing care provider.

Prescription Treatment Options for Hearing Loss in 2025

One of the main benefits of prescription hearing aids is the fact they are designed to address the full range of hearing loss severities from mild to profound and are certified to address them in accordance with FDA guidelines.

Similar to prescription medications, these hearing aids require a prescription from a hearing care professional, which means you will have to have a hearing test and/or consultation with a doctor of audiology or hearing instrument specialist.

Your device will be programmed to accommodate your hearing deficiency, but at varying levels of accuracy depending on the service provider. Warranties, troubleshooting, maintenance, and repair are standard support services for prescription hearing aids, but the level of support will vary depending on the provider.

The type and amount of professional support you receive will depend upon the treatment option you choose. The following three treatment options come with varying levels of professional support.

Direct-to-Consumer Hearing Aids

Purchasing hearing aids using this type of service is pretty appealing. You go online, have your hearing tested online, and your hearing aids are sent to you preprogrammed. In computer jargon, this is a “plug and play” solution.

These devices come from reputable manufacturers but are preprogrammed to address commonly used gain and sloping hearing loss targets for people with your level of hearing loss.

Programming adjustments can be made via a cell phone app and/or remote programming by an online hearing care professional.

Some other major drawbacks to this treatment option are the accuracy of online hearing tests and the absence of a physical examination of your ears to rule out other causes for your hearing loss.

Support may come from a hearing care professional, but it is likely to be from a different person each time you call, and it won’t be provided by someone local.

The price range for this treatment option is typically $1850 – $2400, and the best you can hope for is a money-back guarantee rather than a 1 to 3-year loss/repair/replacement warranty.

Hearing Solutions from Big Box Retail Stores

With this solution, you have access to prescription hearing aids by a reputable manufacturer and personal assistance in the hearing aid center inside your local Costco, Sam’s Club, and other large retail chain stores.

You receive an in-person hearing evaluation from a hearing care professional, fitting, and some basic programming adjustments, but these tend to be modifications to commonly used gain and sloping hearing loss targets for people with your level of hearing loss.

Your hearing aids will be covered by a loss/damage replacement warranty. You will get technical support and repair services, but they will follow a retail model rather than a local personalized service model.

For a price between $1250 and $4000, you are getting decent hearing care service with prescription hearing aids to address hearing loss from mild to profound, but there are a lot of things missing when compared to the third option in this category.

Hearing Care from a Local Professional

Let’s be straight right up front. You are likely to invest more using this treatment option than you might using the others.

However, the value built into the $2500 – $7500 price point for this treatment option is far superior to the less expensive options.

While most treatment options focus on the purchase of a device to help you hear better, a local hearing care professional is ready to explore all of the possible causes, treatment options, and successful outcomes to address your hearing loss rather than assuming that you need a hearing aid.

A comprehensive hearing assessment with a hearing care professional will include a physical examination of your ears to rule out obstructions, inflammation, and other hearing loss causes hearing aids are not able to address.

The data from your hearing exam will identify your specific type of hearing loss and its severity as well as provide the programming data for personalizing your hearing aids to address your unique needs.

Ongoing adjustments, often using real ear sound mapping, are standard follow-up care and most also include value-added services, such as:

  • Personalize counseling while you acclimate to your hearing aids
  • Deep cleaning
  • Maintenance
  • Repair
  • Troubleshooting
  • Tinnitus support
  • Earwax removal
  • Ongoing testing to evaluate hearing aid performance
  • 3-to-5-year loss/damage/replacement warranties

You will have access to a broad selection of the industry’s best hearing aid technology from the world’s best hearing aid manufacturers, and you may be able to use your health insurance to help with hearing aids and/or hearing care for this treatment option.

Making Your Choice Count

We respect whatever choice you make because you are recognizing that you need help, and you are doing something about it.

However, price and convenience should not be the primary factors that drive a healthcare decision that will have ongoing consequences connected to your overall health and quality of life.

Rather than looking for the cheapest treatment solution, take a careful look at the hearing care offered by Fox Valley ENT Associates as the most comprehensive solution to your better hearing needs.

Contact us to learn more or to schedule a hearing assessment by clicking here, or give us a call at one of our Northern Illinois clinics: Algonquin: (847) 854-0005, Elgin: (847) 741-8500, St. Charles: (630) 377-5000, Huntley: (847) 741-8500.

Contact Us

Do you know somebody that needs to see this? Why not share it?

Brittany Hampsch, AuD

Brittany earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Champaign in 2004 and her doctorate from Northwestern in 2014. She is fluent in American Sign Language and worked as an interpreter before becoming an audiologist. Brittany is passionate about communication and helping those in need in any way she can. Her kindness and helpfulness earn her regular praises from Fox Valley ENT patients who are so grateful that she has joined our team. In her spare time, Brittany is an avid scuba diver, enjoys camping and cooking, and tends to a large saltwater aquarium in her home with her husband and two sons.