Yes, you can sell used hearing aids in the United States, but what you’re allowed to do depends almost entirely on whether the device is an over-the-counter model or a prescription one. OTC hearing aids can be resold to any adult buyer with no professional involvement. Prescription hearing aids are restricted medical devices under federal law, which limits who can sell them and how they must be labeled. Everything else — pricing, platform, packaging — follows from that one distinction.
Find Out Which Type You Have
The FDA created a separate OTC hearing aid category in October 2022, and this is the first thing to check before you list anything. An OTC hearing aid is an air-conduction device intended for adults 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, designed so the user can control and customize settings without professional help. These can be bought and sold without a prescription, a fitting, or a licensed audiologist in the transaction.
A prescription hearing aid is anything that doesn’t meet the OTC definition: devices for severe hearing loss, bone-conduction hearing aids, and any aid designed to be programmed exclusively by a professional. Prescription hearing aids fall under 21 CFR 801.109, which means they can only be sold to or on the order of a licensed practitioner.
Federal regulations require both categories to display their classification on the outside of the original box, so check the packaging first. If the box is long gone, the manufacturer’s website or customer service line can confirm which category your model falls into.
Label the Package as Used
Federal labeling rules apply to resales, not just first sales. If an OTC hearing aid is used or rebuilt, the outside package must declare that fact, and a sticker visible through the outer wrapper is enough. The same rule applies to prescription hearing aids under the parallel regulation.
Selling a used device in packaging that doesn’t disclose its pre-owned status can render the product misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA has said it takes a risk-based approach to enforcement, so an individual moving a single pair is less likely to draw scrutiny than a business selling unlabeled devices at scale. The legal exposure exists either way, and the fix is a small sticker.
Watch the Line Between Selling and Dispensing
Federal law is the floor. Most states require anyone who fits, adjusts, or programs hearing aids to hold a license as a hearing aid dispenser or audiologist. That creates a trap for well-meaning private sellers: sell a prescription hearing aid to a friend and then help them tweak the settings, and you’ve arguably done unlicensed dispensing.
The cleanest way to sell a prescription hearing aid is to sell it to a licensed refurbisher or audiologist who has the legal authority to recondition and reprogram it for the next user. Buy-back services pay less than a private buyer would, because they’re absorbing the cost of reprogramming, relabeling, and compliance, but they take on the legal complexity. Most use an inspection period of five to ten business days to verify the device works before releasing payment.
OTC hearing aids sidestep this. Because they’re designed for user self-adjustment, selling one to another adult generally doesn’t trigger licensing rules, and the 2022 federal rule blocks states from imposing licensing requirements that would restrict OTC sales beyond what federal law allows.
Wipe Your Data First
Modern hearing aids are wireless devices that store personal information, and this step is easy to skip. Research from the University of Northern Colorado found that three out of five hearing aids tested from major U.S. manufacturers broadcast identifying information over Bluetooth, and in several cases the programmed device name included the owner’s actual name. Anyone within Bluetooth range could passively pick that up.
Before you list the device:
- Factory reset it through the manufacturer’s app. This clears your personalized gain profiles and any remote adjustments from your audiologist.
- Deactivate or delete your account in that app so the device is no longer linked to your customer portal, saved settings, or remote assistance.
- Change the Bluetooth device name if it broadcasts your real name. Some manufacturers only allow this through their fitting software, which means asking your audiologist to do it.
Some manufacturers retain protected health information even after you deactivate your account, to comply with health records retention laws. The factory reset clears the device itself; your data may still sit in the manufacturer’s systems.
Prepare the Device and Documentation
A well-documented hearing aid sells faster and for more. Gather the manufacturer, model, and year of purchase. Locate the serial number, usually printed on the spine or inside the battery door. That number lets a buyer confirm warranty status and that the device isn’t stolen.
Manufacturer warranties are typically tied to the serial number and can follow the device to a new owner. Service warranties from the original clinic are tied to the original buyer and do not transfer. Be clear in your listing about which, if any, remains.
Clean the exterior with a dry cloth and remove old batteries so they don’t corrode in transit. Test the microphones and receivers for sound clarity and note any distortion honestly. Pull together the original receipt and user manual if you still have them, and take clear photos from several angles, including a close-up of the serial number. Buyers spending hundreds of dollars on a device they can’t try in person rely on that documentation.
Where to List It
For OTC hearing aids, general online marketplaces are the easiest route. eBay allows OTC models but prohibits prescription hearing aids. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist work for local sales. List the technical details, post high-resolution photos, describe condition honestly, and be ready to answer questions about battery type, Bluetooth compatibility, and remaining warranty.
For prescription hearing aids, specialized buy-back services and licensed refurbishers are the practical option. They pay less than a private buyer, but they handle the reprogramming and the compliance work you can’t legally do yourself.
Whatever the platform, ship in padded packaging, use a service with tracking and insurance, and keep payment inside the platform’s dispute resolution system rather than moving it off to a direct transfer.
What Used Hearing Aids Are Worth
Set expectations before you price. Hearing aids depreciate sharply because the technology moves quickly and because a prescription device usually needs professional reprogramming for a new user, which costs the buyer extra. Used aids commonly sell for 40 to 70 percent below their original retail price, depending on age, condition, and whether the model is current or has been superseded. Newer OTC models with broad brand recognition tend to hold value better than older prescription aids from smaller manufacturers.
Reprogramming affects your pricing too. An audiologist fitting a pre-owned prescription hearing aid to a new patient may charge anywhere from roughly $50 to several hundred dollars, and buyers factor that in. If your device is still under manufacturer warranty and includes original accessories, say so in the listing.
A Note on Taxes
Selling a used hearing aid for less than you paid, which is the usual outcome, doesn’t create taxable income, and the loss on personal property isn’t deductible. The current federal threshold for a Form 1099-K is $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions in a calendar year, so a single sale won’t trigger one.
One situation is different: if you previously deducted the hearing aid as a medical expense on your tax return, the portion of the sale price that represents a recovery of that earlier deduction is taxable as ordinary income, and any amount above that recovery is a capital gain. Your adjusted basis is the portion of the original cost you couldn’t deduct because of the AGI threshold for medical deductions.
Donation as an Alternative
If the resale value is low or you’d rather help someone who can’t afford hearing assistance, several national organizations accept used hearing aids regardless of age, brand, or working condition:
- Lions Clubs International partners with Hearing Charities of America to collect and redistribute used hearing aids, and you can start the process through the Hearing Charities of America online donation form.
- The Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Hear Now program accepts donated hearing aids and provides them to people in need.
- Local Sertoma, Kiwanis, and Rotary clubs often run reconditioning programs.
A donated hearing aid qualifies as a charitable contribution if you give it to a qualified 501(c)(3). You can deduct the fair market value at the time of donation, not what you originally paid. The IRS defines fair market value as the price a willing buyer and seller would agree on, and for used electronics that’s usually well below the original purchase price. Comparable listings of the same model on sites where used hearing aids are actively traded are the most reliable benchmark.