OTC Hearing Aids
What OTC Hearing Aids Can and Cannot Do
Since the FDA's 2022 ruling, over-the-counter hearing aids in Zionsville, IN have been sold straight to adults with no prescription and no audiologist visit. They're built for adults 18 and older with self-perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss and rely on a self-fitting app. There's no audiogram behind them, no custom programming, and no way to verify the device matches your hearing, or that your loss even sits inside the OTC range.
Dr. Jordan Hughes, Au.D.
Owner & Clinical Audiologist
Why a Verified Prescription Fitting Works Better
Prescription hearing aids fitted by Dr. Hughes are programmed to your exact audiogram and verified with Real Ear Measurement, so the right amount of amplification actually reaches your eardrum at every frequency. They cover mild through profound loss, include tinnitus programs, and arrive with follow-up adjustments, in-office service, and a 45-day trial. OTC devices offer none of that. The gap isn't only sound quality, it's verified hearing healthcare.
Prescription vs. OTC: Common Questions
Straight answers on over-the-counter versus prescription hearing aids in Zionsville, and what each choice means for your hearing over the next several years.
OTC hearing aids are self-fitted, one-size-fits-most devices with a fixed amplification range aimed at self-perceived mild-to-moderate adult hearing loss. No audiogram, no professional programming, no follow-up: you configure them through a smartphone app. They can't address severe or profound loss, tinnitus, single-sided loss, or asymmetric hearing, and nothing confirms they're amplifying correctly for your ear.
Prescription hearing aids are programmed to your individual audiogram, verified with Real Ear Measurement, fit to your ear anatomy, and supported for the life of the device. They cover the full range of hearing loss and carry features OTC devices can't replicate. Once there's a measurable loss on the audiogram, the difference in outcomes is substantial.
The FDA's OTC category covers adults 18 and older with self-perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss. That phrase does a lot of work: the rules are built around what you believe your hearing loss is, not what an audiogram shows. Plenty of adults who assume their loss is mild find out on testing that it's moderate-to-severe, uneven between ears, or tangled up with a treatable medical condition.
OTC devices are not appropriate for children, sudden or rapidly changing hearing loss, single-sided loss, severe or profound loss, tinnitus, ear drainage, or a history of ear surgery. A diagnostic hearing evaluation is the only reliable way to learn which category you're in. Call (317) 973-8098 to book one.
Yes, and not merely because the OTC rules changed. A diagnostic hearing evaluation shows exactly where your hearing sits at every frequency, in both ears, and how you handle speech in background noise. That data is what separates a hearing aid that genuinely helps from one that just makes the whole room louder.
The exam also catches problems amplification can't fix: impacted earwax, a perforated eardrum, sudden sensorineural loss that needs urgent medical referral, or asymmetry that points to something worth investigating. Buying devices before you know any of that is a gamble, and often an expensive one. Call (317) 973-8098 to get tested first.
You'll get an honest read either way. If your audiogram shows a mild, symmetrical loss and an OTC device is a reasonable place to start, Dr. Hughes will say so and help you understand what to expect from one. Nobody here needs to sell you a hearing aid to justify the appointment.
Where prescription devices earn their cost is everything around them: programming built on your measured hearing rather than an app's guess, Real Ear Measurement confirming the sound reaching your eardrum, a 45-day trial to test the result in real life, and a single audiologist who knows your history when something changes years from now.
A 45-Day Hearing Aid Trial, Not 30
Every set of hearing aids fitted at Hughes Holistic Audiology comes with a 45-day trial, longer than the 30 days most clinics offer. Thirty days is rarely enough time to adapt. Wear them where your life happens, at work, at the dinner table, and out around Zionsville. If they are not right, bring them back to be adjusted, exchanged for another model, or returned.
Patient Reviews
What patients in Zionsville and Boone County say about their appointments with Dr. Jordan Hughes, Au.D.
Catch Every Word on Your Next Walk Through Zionsville
Appointments run Monday through Thursday, and every visit is with Dr. Jordan Hughes herself.
Serving Zionsville & Boone County
Visit Us in Zionsville
Our office sits on West Oak Street in Zionsville, a short drive from Whitestown, Lebanon, and northwest Indianapolis.
- Independent, doctor-owned solo practice
- Every visit with Dr. Jordan Hughes, Au.D.
- Real ear measurement on every fitting
“My son was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. After years of delivering that diagnosis, I sat on the other side of the chair and heard it. I opened this practice so patients get the appointment I would have wanted that day.”Dr. Jordan Hughes, Au.D., Owner
Hughes Holistic Audiology
Audiology Clinic1505 W Oak Street, Suite 200, Zionsville, IN 46077
| Monday | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM |
| Thursday | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM |
| Friday | Closed |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |