The short version
- Ontario says it will let people with mild hearing loss buy hearing aids over the counter, through a law change in its fall economic update.
- Today Ontario law bans selling any hearing aid unless a doctor or audiologist has prescribed it.
- The change would let makers of earbuds with built-in hearing-aid features turn those features on for devices sold in the province.
Ontario will allow over-the-counter hearing aids for people with mild hearing loss, the provincial government said on October 20. Today the province’s law bans selling a hearing aid unless a doctor or audiologist has prescribed it. The government says a legislative change will go into its fall economic update later this year, followed by new regulations. It has not given a date.
The practical effect is on earbuds. Health Canada has already licensed some wireless earbuds with built-in hearing-aid features, but those features cannot be switched on for sale in Ontario. Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the change “will give Ontarians more choice and flexibility to get the hearing support they need, when and where they need it.” The government says it does not affect existing prescriptions or coverage. Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program pays up to 75% of the cost of prescribed hearing aids. The plan follows a 30-day public consultation that opened in April.
One example is Apple’s AirPods Pro. Health Canada approved their hearing-aid and hearing-test features in December 2024, according to iPhone in Canada, but Apple has never turned them on in Canada and has not announced a Canadian launch.
Whether people will use the option is less clear. Older adults in four countries, surveyed before over-the-counter hearing aids existed, mostly wanted their hearing care from a clinic.
