OTC Hearing Aid Settings

Generally, prescription hearing aids can only be fitted by a hearing aid professional, usually the person selling the hearing aids.

In addition, Prescription hearing aids usually have an App that runs on a tablet or smartphone and which enables the user to make various adjustments to the hearing aid's performance characteristics. That is, typically the user can adjust sound volume level, select various programs such as telecoil and hearing directionality, and even make some minor modifications to the initial provider fitting.

OTC hearing aids, on the other hand, enable the buyer to self-fit the device. Out-of-the-box they provide the user the ability to select from various degrees of hearing loss or take a self-administered hearing test using a smartphone or tablet App to determine the user's unique hearing characteristics, or profile. This process replaces the need for a provider to do the initial fitting.

We recommend that you consider only products that use an App to determine your unique hearing profile rather than being limited to selection from a sample set.

Note that some prescription hearing aid providers offer assistance in fitting OTC hearing aids to ensure the best possible result. This may be an attractive option to many users.