To start our process of testing hearing aids, we read all the research we can find on hearing aids, their benefits, and their limitations. Next, we consult with our board of expert medical reviewers—a cracker-jack team of audiologists and other hearing professionals who guide our testing efforts and review our stories for medical accuracy.
After that, we start poring over hearing aid customer reviews. We are voracious readers of customer reviews—we’ve read thousands of reviews on trusted third-party sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot.
Then, it’s time to hear from the people. We survey older adult hearing aid users—just like you—to understand what’s most important in a hearing aid. What matters more: looks or functionality? Price or processing power? Those answers help guide our testing efforts to ensure our reviews are as helpful as possible.
We test many hearing aids but only recommend a select few—we focus on brands that offer the following:
- Offer a range of prices for different budgets
- Treat multiple degrees of hearing loss
- Have a variety of features that address different hearing issues, like tinnitus
All of our recommendations are reviewed by our board of hearing experts, so you can be sure our picks are safe, appropriate, and some of the best on the market.
How we score and review hearing aids
Once we hand-test our hearing aids, it’s time to score them based on performance. We collect more than 70 data points on every hearing aid we test. We take that mountain of data and create a scorecard, which is our rubric for giving a hearing aid its overall score, out of 10.
Each score has a certain weight based on the following factors:
- Price (35% of total score): Does the device offer good quality for the money? Does the brand have a money-back guarantee, solid warranty, and low-interest financing options?
- User Experience (30% of total score): How easy is the hearing aid to use? Is it hard to change the batteries? Pair the hearing aids with Bluetooth. Are the hearing aids actually comfortable to wear?
- Features (15% of total score): Do the hearing aids offer all the important features identified in our surveys and conversations with hearing professionals? They get extra points if devices have snazzy features like fall detection, advanced sound processing, and digital noise reduction.
- Customer Support (15% of total score): How easy is getting support or help troubleshooting? Does the brand offer remote adjustments with hearing professionals? What about multiple ways to contact customer service and fast, friendly service?
- Reputation & Credibility (5% of total score): What are the brands’ grades on third-party review sites like BBB and Trustpilot? Do the companies have any pending lawsuits?