Over the counter hearing aids and hearing gear
Read the chart first, then choose the gear
What this site is
Reference charts and buying guidance for hearing gear. The core of it is a set of tables: what every decibel level sounds like, what an audiogram actually plots, what each hearing level in decibels is called on the two published scales that disagree with each other, and which battery, dome and wax guard a device takes. Nothing here is a hearing test, and no web page can perform one.
The one distinction that matters most
Search results for "hearing aids" are dominated by unbranded amplifiers listed as over the counter hearing aids. They are not the same product and the difference is regulatory rather than marketing. An over the counter hearing aid is an FDA regulated medical device, created by the 2022 rule, for adults 18 and over with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. A personal sound amplification product is consumer electronics, is not a medical device, and the FDA states plainly that it is not intended to compensate for impaired hearing.
Both are legitimate. Only one is a hearing aid. This site sourced 118 products from 21 regulated over the counter devices and 7 honestly labelled sound amplifiers, and rejected 43 unbranded devices that were the second while being titled as the first. Every card on the site says which class it is, in words.
The severity categories used in routine United States audiology practice, applied to a pure tone average of 500, 1000 and 2000 hertz.
| Threshold (dB HL) | Category | What a threshold there typically shows |
|---|---|---|
| -10 to 25 | Normal hearing | Thresholds in this range are recorded as normal hearing for an adult on this scale. |
| 26 to 40 | Mild hearing loss | Soft speech and speech at a distance are typically harder to follow, and conversation in background noise is commonly reported as effortful. |
| 41 to 55 | Moderate hearing loss | Conversation at a normal level is typically difficult to follow without amplification. |
| 56 to 70 | Moderately severe hearing loss | Speech generally has to be raised well above a normal level to be followed. |
| 71 to 90 | Severe hearing loss | Ordinary conversation is generally not audible without amplification. |
| 91 to 120 | Profound hearing loss | Very loud sounds may be perceived, often as vibration rather than as sound. |
Every 3 decibel increase halves the NIOSH permissible time, from 8 hours at 85 dBA down to about a second at 130.
| Level (dBA) | NIOSH allows | OSHA allows |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | 8 hours | 16 hours |
| 88 | 4 hours | 10.6 hours |
| 91 | 2 hours | 7 hours |
| 94 | 1 hour | 4.6 hours |
| 97 | 30 minutes | 3 hours |
| 100 | 15 minutes | 2 hours |
| 103 | 7.5 minutes | 1.3 hours |
| 106 | 3.8 minutes | 52.2 minutes |
| 109 | 1.9 minutes | 34.5 minutes |
Complete setups, at three budgets
- Starter $321 The lowest cost route to a working hearing setup: a branded rechargeable over the counter device, the care items that keep it working, and the two single-situation fixes that help most.
- Everyday $872 The buy-once tier: a branded self-fitting Bluetooth over the counter hearing aid, an Auracast television transmitter, an electronic dryer and the care items that protect all of it.
- Full $2,957 The performance ceiling: a premium over the counter device sold with remote audiology support, a matched television streamer, professional grade drying and cleaning, and a complete alerting system.
The reference charts
- How Loud Is It, in Decibels 32 pages A page for every everyday sound: the typical A-weighted level, what else sits at that level, whether it is above the threshold where hearing protectio
- What Every Hearing Level in Decibels Is Called 25 pages A page for every hearing level from 0 to 120 decibels in 5 decibel steps: what the common clinical convention calls that threshold, what the World Hea
- Typical Hearing Frequency Range by Age 7 pages The approximate upper frequency limit usually quoted for each age band, why the top of the range goes first, and why almost none of it affects speech.
- Hearing Aid Battery Sizes 24 pages A page for every hearing aid battery size, for every combination of size and use pattern, and for every device style: the tab colour, the IEC designat
- Hearing Aid Dome Style and Size 56 pages Which dome style suits which hearing pattern, what each one costs you in occlusion or in available gain, what every common size means, and which fitti
- Receiver Power on a Receiver in Canal Hearing Aid 28 pages What each receiver power label covers, which power a given hearing level usually falls in, and which receiver fitting each manufacturer uses. Power la
- Wax Guard Replacement Intervals 11 pages How often a wax guard needs changing at each level of earwax production, which fitting each manufacturer uses, and why a blocked guard is the commones
- How Long Is It Safe at This Noise Level 69 pages The permissible exposure time at every level from 71 to 139 decibels, under both the NIOSH recommended limit and the more permissive OSHA enforceable
- Hearing Aid Streaming and Phone Compatibility 20 pages Whether hearing aids stream to your phone, and by which route. Six protocols and two platforms, with what each one actually requires. Every fact here
Everything else on the site
- Hearing Reference Charts 6 pages The dense, citable tables this site exists for. What every decibel level sounds like, the hearing loss categories by threshold in decibels hearing lev
- Best Hearing Gear by Category 6 pages Roundups with a beginner, intermediate and expert pick in every category: over the counter hearing aids at each price tier, amplified telephones, tele
- Head to Head Comparisons 6 pages Over the counter against prescription, a hearing aid against a personal sound amplifier, rechargeable against disposable batteries, behind the ear aga
- Hearing Device Reviews 6 pages Research based reviews of the expensive purchases, built from manufacturer specification sheets, published FDA device classifications and the recurrin
- Hearing Gear Guides 12 pages What an over the counter hearing aid is and who the rule covers, what a hearing aid fitting costs, how to read your own audiogram, when a symptom belo
- Tools and lookups 9 tools Threshold to category, decibel comparison, noise exposure time, battery size and life, dome and receiver, wax guard interval, and running cost.
- Device spec sheets 36 sheets Published manufacturer figures only. Where a maker does not publish something, the row is absent rather than estimated.
272 generated reference pages, 36 written pages, 9 tools, 36 spec sheets and 3 complete setups.
Get the complete hearing gear list
Every item in the starter, everyday and full setups, with running totals, in one printable list. It opens with a hearing evaluation, because that is genuinely the first step. No charge.
One list, no sequence of daily emails, and you can leave at any time.