The short answer
Original Medicare, meaning Part A and Part B, does not cover hearing aids. Many Medicare Advantage plans, also called Part C, do include a hearing aid benefit, and the value of that benefit varies by plan. The rest of this page explains what each part covers, how the Advantage benefit is usually built, and how to find out what your own plan says.
Piccolo Hearing is not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any insurance plan. We check your benefit before any purchase, at no charge.
What Original Medicare covers
Medicare.gov is direct about it: “Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids or exams for fitting hearing aids.” Under Parts A and B, “you pay all costs for non-covered services, including hearing aids and exams.”
What Part B does cover is diagnostic testing. Medicare.gov states that Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams “if your doctor or other health care provider orders them to find out if you need medical treatment.” After the Part B deductible, you pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount, and a hospital outpatient setting adds a copayment.
There is one more rule that changed in 2023. You can now see an audiologist once every 12 months without an order from your doctor, but only for non-acute hearing conditions, such as hearing loss that develops over many years, and for diagnostic services related to surgically implanted hearing devices. That visit is still a diagnostic exam. It does not turn into hearing aid coverage.
In plain words: Medicare will help pay to find out why you are not hearing well when a doctor wants that answer. It will not help pay for the hearing aids.
Our own hearing test is free and is not billed to Medicare or any plan, so none of the above applies to a visit with us.
What Medicare Advantage plans add
Medicare Advantage plans are sold by private insurers and must cover what Original Medicare covers. Most add extra benefits, and hearing is one of the most common. According to KFF, 98 percent of individual Medicare Advantage plans offer some hearing benefit in 2026, where “hearing includes hearing exams and/or aids.”
The benefit is usually structured one of two ways.
An allowance. The plan contributes up to a set dollar amount toward hearing aids in a plan year. You pay anything above that amount. Some plans state the allowance per ear and some per pair.
A copay. The plan has arranged a fixed member price for each technology level through its hearing network. You pay that copay per aid, and the plan pays the rest. As one example of how an insurer describes this, UnitedHealthcare states that on its Medicare Advantage plans with a hearing benefit, prescription hearing aid copays depend on the technology level and the plan covers aids only from a UnitedHealthcare Hearing network provider.
Three rules apply to most plans, whichever structure they use:
- In-network only. The benefit is paid only at a clinic contracted with the plan’s hearing network. Buying elsewhere usually means no benefit.
- A yearly limit. Many plans allow one or two aids per plan year. Others allow new aids only every two or three years.
- A routine exam. Many plans include a yearly routine hearing exam at no cost beyond your premium. Whether that is required before using the hearing aid benefit depends on the plan.
We work with plan hearing networks including UnitedHealthcare Hearing, TruHearing, Nations Hearing, Amplifon Hearing Health Care and Start Hearing. Our insurance guide explains how each network works.
The December 31 reset, explained plainly
Most Medicare Advantage hearing benefits are tied to the plan year, which runs from January 1 to December 31. On January 1 the benefit starts over.
That cuts two ways. If you used your allowance this year, you get a fresh one next year, subject to your plan’s frequency rules. If you did not use it, it is generally gone. Unused allowance usually does not roll over, and a plan that changes its hearing benefit for next year is not required to honor this year’s terms.
This matters for timing. Hearing aids take a few steps: a hearing test, a benefit check, an order, and a fitting. Orders placed late in December may not arrive and be fitted before the year ends, and plans differ on whether the order date or the fitting date counts. If you have been putting it off and want to use this year’s benefit, the safe move is to start in the fall, not in the last week of December.
None of this is a reason to buy hearing aids you do not need. It is a reason to find out what you have.
Medigap does not add hearing aid coverage
Medigap, also called Medicare Supplement insurance, helps pay your share of costs under Original Medicare, such as copays, coinsurance and deductibles. It does not add new categories of coverage. Medicare.gov states that Medigap plans generally do not cover long-term care, vision or dental care, hearing aids, glasses, or private-duty nursing.
Some Medigap insurers offer a separate discount program for hearing aids. That is a discount, not a benefit, and it is worth comparing against a written quote.
How to find out what your plan covers
There are three ways, and they all work.
Read the Evidence of Coverage. Every Medicare Advantage plan sends this document each fall and posts it online. Look in the benefits chart for “Hearing services” or “Hearing aids.” It will say whether the benefit is an allowance or a copay, how many aids are allowed and how often, and whether you must use a network provider.
Call the plan. The member services number is on your card. Ask four questions: Do I have a hearing aid benefit? Is it an allowance or a copay? Is it per ear or per pair? Which hearing network do I have to use?
Let us check. Bring your card to a free hearing test, or give us your plan details when you book. We call the plan or the network, confirm the benefit, and tell you the number in writing before anything is ordered. There is no charge, and no purchase is required.
Enrollment windows that matter for hearing
If your current plan has no hearing benefit, or a weak one, you can only change plans at certain times. The dates below come from Medicare.gov.
- Medicare Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7. You can join, drop or switch Medicare Advantage plans, or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Coverage begins January 1 of the next year.
- Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 to March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare once. Coverage begins the first of the month after the plan gets your request.
When comparing plans, look at the hearing benefit in each plan’s Evidence of Coverage rather than the marketing summary, and look at which hearing network the plan uses. We cannot recommend a plan, and we are not insurance agents. We can explain what a benefit means in practice once you have the document in front of you.
What Piccolo Hearing does
For people on Medicare, here is what we offer at both the Duluth and Houston clinics.
- A free hearing test by a licensed hearing instrument specialist. It is not billed to Medicare or any plan.
- A free benefit check. We confirm your Medicare Advantage hearing benefit before anything is ordered and tell you your out-of-pocket number in writing.
- In-network care through UnitedHealthcare Hearing, TruHearing, Nations Hearing, Amplifon Hearing Health Care and Start Hearing.
- Most major brands. We fit and service Phonak, Oticon, Signia, Widex, Starkey, ReSound, Unitron and Bernafon, so the brand your plan’s network offers is one we know.
- A 45-day trial on hearing aids bought from us, with ongoing follow-up care included. Ask us for the trial terms in writing.
- Care in your language. Our staff speak English, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese.
Coverage varies by plan, and we verify your benefit before any purchase. For the local details, see our Medicare Advantage pages for Duluth and Houston, and our cost guide for what hearing aids cost without a benefit.