Where is the best place to buy hearing aids in the UK?
- Koorosh Nejad
- Feb 11
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Linked to my post about the best hearing aids of 2026, I thought a shopping guide might be a good idea, especially for patients who will start using hearing aids for the first time. Please note that this article only discusses the options for purchasing hearing aids and not the criteria of selection, the form factor or the brand or technology levels of the hearing aids. For other attributes of hearing aids, please use the links provided in the related articles and the search feature on this page to browse through our articles on HearingNow or contact us for a free telecare consultation.
Disclaimer: Given the ever-changing nature of the hearing aid market, please take the advice in this post with caution. The user's research and reflection on the options for buying hearing aids is highly recommended.
Related articles:
Where can I buy premium hearing aids in the UK?
There are several options for you on where to buy your first premium hearing aids (click here if you are looking for NHS hearing aids). Here are a few options, with cons and pros for each one:
Independent local audiologists
Cons - higher prices, but for a premium service quality.
Pros - Availability and access; unbiased advice on hearing aid brands and models; being attended with a professional team; often being seen by the same audiologist, hence consistency in follow-ups; professional fitting with Real Ear Measurement (REM); very likely a 5-year extended warranty.
Hearing care offices within your optometrist
Cons - Being attended with different consultants; limited access as the audiologist is usually only one day a week in the optician's office; higher prices
Pros - Addressing your vision and hearing care in one place
National chains such as Specsavers, Hidden Hearing, Scriven, Amplify and Boots
Cons: Limited brand offering, limited warranty (usually only up to 3 years); push for their own white-label hearing aids, which are often older technologies; driven commercially; different audiologists can see you; high turnover and hearing care professionals with mixed experience.
Pros - Nationwide branches in case you move.
Online websites
Cons - More suitable for experienced hearing aid users; you miss the Real Ear Measurement (REM) for optimum fitting, resulting in sub-optimal sound quality and hearing aid performance in noisy environments; you may not be aware of any referrable cases, no option for custom-made hearing aids; as you will miss the chance of an audiologist examining your ear canals.
Pros - Competitive prices for hearing aids,
Secondhand hearing aids, e.g. on eBay (also in this article)
Cons - Limited brand offering, no warranty or aftercare; no programming or repair support; the receiver/speaker unit may not fit properly; the aids may need a new rechargeable battery soon; concerns about whether the customer buys the right model; no option for custom-made hearing aid; and hygiene concerns.
Pros - Cheap prices for brand-name hearing aids.
What is the best approach for your first pair of hearing aids?
If this is the very first pair of hearing aids you will be purchasing, my best advice is to consider:
Research - Do some online research to understand the difference between hearing aids and how they differ from each other in terms of sound processing, their ability to improve speech in noise, etc.
Consultation - While Specsavers, Boots, and other major high street clinics limit their range of hearing aids to maximise their profit (higher volume of a particular model, lower purchasing price from the manufacturer), the independent clinics often offer you the full range of technologies in the market. Do a thorough consultation and make sure to do a trial for a couple of models for a couple of weeks before you commit.
Avoid white-label products - White-labeled hearing aids, such as Specsavers Advance or Boots AudioNova, can only be programmed by the supplier. That means you are hooked for future repair and maintenance after the warranty period. No independent audiologist can repair or reprogram them for you, and often the supplier refuses to support the product after their 3-year warranty and instead encourages you to purchase new pairs.
Lifestyle - Understand your needs and wants in a hearing aid. Lifestyle plays a big role in the shortlisting of the options. Consult with your audiologists on the technology level of the hearing aids to optimise your options and find the best match with your budget.
How to get the best out of your investment?
Hearing aids are sophisticated pieces of electronics. Also, they are related to your health. So I would suggest:
Research - Do enough due diligence and research to learn more about the latest models and the features each hearing aid brand offers. Use the articles in the HearingNow blog and other online resources, and contact us via a free hearing care telecare if you need consultation. Please note that there are a lot of YouTube videos which are mostly commercially driven. Get the habit of cross-checking your findings.
Experienced audiologist - The hearing aids sound better and work better in a noisy environment if they have been fitted AND set up professionally. Make sure to buy your hearing aids from a clinic which has a good track record on Google and Trustpilot. You may find very attractive prices for hearing aids online, but please consider a local clinic, which you can visit for an optimal fitting and tuning up of your hearing aids.
Extended warranty - Specsavers, Boots and other multi-branch hearing care companies only offer you a 3-year warranty. On the other hand, most independent local audiologists offer you an extended 5-year warranty that simply covers any electronic fault of the hearing aids in years 4 and 5, when you need the coverage the most.
How to protect your investment in hearing aids?
After buying a house and a car, hearing aids might be the most expensive investment in someone's lifetime. Here are my suggestions on how to safeguard your hearing aids:
Extended warranty - Make sure you purchase your hearing aids from a clinic that gives you a 5-year warranty. This is an extended manufacturer's warranty, and often, only local independent audiologists can offer it to you.
Hearing aid insurance - Get your hearing aids and an insurance policy. You can put them under Personal Belongings in your home insurance policy. Suggest giving your insurance company a call. More tips on hearing aid insurance are on this page.
Hearing aid fitting - Make sure that the hearing aids are fitted with the proper dome size or earmould so they are not loose. If they keep coming out of the ear canal, consult with your audiologist to optimise the retention of the hearing aids for you.
Hearing aid app - Most hearing aids do have Bluetooth connectivity, and through the hearing aid app, you can locate them in the event of accidental loss or misplacement. Make sure that you choose the hearing aids that have a location and loss feature in the app. Also, make sure that the app setting is on Always so the mobile phone and the hearing aids are checking each other in terms of their geographical location.
Why would you lose money when buying white-label hearing aids from Amplify, Boots and Specsavers?
If your budget is limited and you purchase white-label hearing aids from Amplify, Boots, Specsavers, Costco and other national providers, you often lose money. The reason is that very likely you will end up buying their own brand hearing aids, which are usually cheaper than brand names such as Phonak, Widex, Oticon, Resound, Starkey, Bernafon, Rexton and Widex, hence more attractive to patients with a tight budget. The white-label products are older technologies rebranded by the vendor.
They are good products, but they are older technologies. For the money you save, you lose a lot of features at the table. For the vendor, it makes sense to sell their own white-label hearing aids versus the brand name, as they enjoy a bigger margin on white-label hearing aids.
The other major issue is that only the vendor can repair or tune the white-label hearing aids for the patient, so the patient is hooked to life.
Questions?
If you have a question about buying new hearing aids, you can contact us or book a free online hearing care consultation.
