Does supplementary health insurance pay for hearing aids?
In short
Yes, some supplementary health insurance plans pay for hearing aids, but only part of the surcharge. Public insurance pays a fixed amount of at least about EUR 704 per device plus you pay EUR 10. Published top-up plans then reimburse from EUR 200 over two years to EUR 800 per ear over three years. If you already have hearing loss, you often cannot get this cover any more.
Public fixed amounts and budgets from published policy terms, as of 2026.
Example
Typical range
Fixed amount for hearing-impaired people
EUR 704.37 per device
Fixed amount for hearing loss bordering on deafness
EUR 734.81 per device
Pair of hearing aids with surcharge
about EUR 2,000 to 5,000
Budget in an outpatient plan, extra cost only
EUR 200 over two calendar years
Budget in a vision and hearing plan
EUR 800 per ear over 36 months, no waiting period
As of October 2026.
The fixed amounts are minimums; some funds pay more.
The EUR 1,500 surcharge per ear in the text is a guide value from our quoting practice;
we find the right hearing aid plan in our quote.
Worked example
Age 62, two hearing aids with surcharge
How the costs split if the plan started before the diagnosis.
Two hearing aids at the acoustician
EUR 4,000
Public insurance, 2 × EUR 704.37
EUR 1,408.74
Co-payment
EUR 20
Top-up, EUR 800 per ear
EUR 1,600
Your share drops from about EUR 2,610 to about EUR 1,010. If the hearing loss existed when you applied, the plan often pays nothing.
What public insurance pays for hearing aids
Hearing aids are covered by German public health insurance (GKV). The fund pays up to a fixed amount (Festbetrag), at least EUR 704.37 per device for hearing-impaired people and EUR 734.81 for hearing loss bordering on deafness. With only one device there is a surcharge of about EUR 152 to 178.
This includes fitting, maintenance and repairs over the period of use. Adults pay EUR 10 per device and buy batteries themselves. The funds' contracts require acousticians to offer enough devices without a surcharge.
Item
Public insurance
You
Standard hearing aid
fixed amount from EUR 704.37 per device
EUR 10 co-payment
Hearing aid with comfort features
fixed amount
surcharge, often several hundred to thousands of euros per ear
Batteries
only up to age 18
everything from 18
New device after 6 years
fixed amount again
surcharge again
What supplementary health insurance pays for hearing aids
Hearing aids are not part of every outpatient top-up plan. Where they are, the plan usually pays the extra cost above the fixed amount, capped at a budget. In published policy terms this ranges from EUR 200 over two calendar years to EUR 800 per ear over 36 months.
With a surcharge of EUR 1,500 per ear, a large part stays with you even with supplementary health insurance. Check whether the budget applies per ear or for both, and whether repairs are included.
Why cover is hard to get after a diagnosis
Most plans ask about illnesses and ongoing treatment. Known hearing loss is then excluded or the application is declined. Hardly any plan insures hearing aids for a condition that has already been diagnosed.
Some plans have no health questions and often no waiting period, but their budgets are usually small. Check whether six years of premiums stay below what the plan would pay for hearing aids in that time.
Hearing aid insurance from the acoustician
Many acousticians sell their own insurance against loss and damage. That is not health insurance: it pays only if the device is dropped, lost or broken in an accident, minus the public share and an excess.
Wear and tear is almost never covered, and manufacturing defects fall under the warranty. Such a policy mainly makes sense for expensive hearing aids with a high surcharge.
When you do not need a top-up for hearing aids
If a device without a surcharge works for you, you pay only EUR 10 per ear. Supplementary health insurance for hearing aids then brings nothing.
If you already have hearing loss and plan a surcharge, saving is often better than a plan that excludes the known condition.
Step by step
Get a prescription from the ENT doctor (HNO-Arzt).
Test a device without surcharge at the acoustician for comparison.
Ask for the surcharge in writing, item by item.
Check in your top-up whether hearing aids are covered and with what budget per ear.
Submit the invoice with the prescription and the public insurance statement.
Checklist
Hearing aids named in the plan
Budget per ear or for both ears clarified
Budget period known
Hearing loss not known before the start
Device without surcharge tested
Common mistakes
Taking out a plan after the ENT doctor has diagnosed hearing loss
Assuming the budget is per ear when it covers both
Choosing a surcharge without testing a device without one
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does public insurance pay for two hearing aids?
Yes, with hearing loss in both ears it pays the fixed amount per device.
How often do I get new hearing aids?
Adults usually after 6 years, children after 5 years.
Earlier only with a special reason, for example if hearing gets much worse.
Does supplementary health insurance pay for batteries?
Not in the published policy terms we checked.
Batteries and care products are explicitly excluded there.
Are there plans without health questions for hearing aids?
Yes, a few.
They are easier to get but usually have small budgets and often still exclude known conditions.
Can public insurance pay more than the fixed amount?
Yes, if a more expensive device is medically needed to compensate for the disability.
This has to be justified and applied for in the individual case.
