Tariffs and Hearing Aids: Lots of Questions, No Firm Answers (updated 4/16/25)

UPDATE: Since this article was published on April 8, the Trump administration announced a 90-day pause to renegotiate terms with US trading partners on a case-by-case basis. This means, currently, there are:

• Across-the-board baseline tariffs of 10% for all trading partners outside of Canada and Mexico.
• 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as imported vehicles and many auto parts.
• 10% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with 25% tariffs on most goods that don't comply with the USMCA agreement (see details below).
• In an escalation of the US-China trade war, the US confirmed on Thursday, April 10, that it has effectively hit China with a 145% tariff.
• The EU and Canada had announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods but then suspended them after Trump reversed course and paused the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.

The 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is set to end on July 8, 2025.

The sweeping reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump on Wednesday, April 2, appear to include medical devices and supplies. However, far too many questions remain unanswered about how the new tariffs might specifically impact hearing aids and the hearing industry.

From our brief survey of hearing industry executives, all we can say at this point is that no one really knows yet, particularly after the 90-day pause. Hearing aids and implants are complex electronic MedTech devices that largely depend on supply chain webs rooted in many countries, with some supply chains being more intricate than others.

Brandon Sawalich, chairman of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) and president and CEO of Starkey, summed it up for HearingTracker. “Like everyone else, we’re learning as the situation progresses. At this time, we’re keeping our heads down and moving forward,” he said.

“The Trump administration has a plan, and it’s working that plan. The plain fact is that some industries are much larger than ours—whether it’s pharma, the auto industry, or even larger MedTech groups—that will gain greater attention just because of their economic impact. In terms of carve-outs or exemptions, I assume these could be a part of the administration’s bigger picture, but we just don’t have a clear view of what those might be yet.

“From HIA’s perspective, with the relationships we have with legislators, right now we’re in a listening and learning mode,” added Sawalich. “The dust must settle first. I would expect that within the next 90 days, we’ll have a much clearer view of the situation; however, it’s certainly possible a lot could change even within the next two weeks or two months. This is somewhat like when the FDA first introduced the OTC hearing aid regulations: we’re learning about the issues, asking questions, and then deciding what’s best for our respective businesses.”

The big question: Exemptions

Once the dust settles, the major question is whether the tariffs will apply to vital MedTech devices. Or, put another way, if there are carve-outs for MedTech, will hearing aids, implants, and possibly diagnostic devices be on the list of levy-exempt products? Pharmaceuticals and semiconductors are currently exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, although Trump has said they will face their own separate tariffs. At present, there are no blanket exceptions for medical devices. Should hearing aids and implants ultimately gain a spot on a list of (near) tariff-exempt products, then the rest is essentially moot.

Along with special carve-outs and exemptions, there could be other provisions that spare hearing aids and implants from tariffs. Some MedTech products could be exempted under Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which has traditionally allowed many types of medical devices to enter the country duty-free or at reduced rates dependent on their use or other conditions. Another is a complicated trade agreement called the Nairobi Protocol, which allows for duty-free products designed or adapted for people with blindness or other physical impairments. Finally, there have been other exemptions for medical-related items, including hearing aids, in previous tariffs.

There is also good justification for sparing European Union medical devices from the new tariffs. It appears that although the EU applies a small tariff (<2%) to some MedTech devices, the majority of US-made devices going into Europe are exempt.

Given all of the above, HearingTracker is optimistic that exemptions could be made for hearing aids and hearing implants. But we'll also stress that they currently do not appear on any list of duty-free items, nor have we seen any high-level discussion about them. The fate of diagnostic and hearing aid-fitting equipment is even more uncertain in this respect.

But if the new tariffs apply, how will they affect hearing aid prices?

Implementing new tariffs could raise the costs of hearing aids, their components, and diagnostic devices and impact their related supply chains.

In February, President Trump set a 25% tariff on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico, along with an extra 10% duty on imports from China. Some delays and changes were made for Canadian energy imports, and Chinese products were bumped up by an extra 10% (for a total of 20%). Then, on April 2, the President unveiled his broad new tariff policy, establishing a standard 10% global baseline import tax on all foreign goods entering the U.S., with elevated "reciprocal" tariffs on specific nations, including an added 34% levy on Chinese imports (to 54%) and a 20% tariff on goods from the EU, both to take effect on April 9. Following retaliatory tariffs made by China, the US tariffs on that country now add up to 145%.

The bottom line regarding the Trump administration’s April 2 reciprocal tariffs was that China and many mid-size countries faced significant headwinds. Canada and Mexico received somewhat positive news (i.e., no additional tariffs beyond those that were previously announced), while the EU received about what had previously been telegraphed. In terms of countries involved in hearing device manufacturing, the reciprocal tariffs hit China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Switzerland the hardest (although all reciprocal tariffs except for China are now on the 90-day pause).

At this time, it's not possible to speculate on how countries might implement their own reciprocal tariffs following the pause; there is still potential for continued escalations of tit-for-tat global trade wars. Negotiations continue between the US and other countries, and the Trump administration said they don't expect "off-the-shelf" solutions, meaning each country/region will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The “Big 5” global hearing aid manufacturers are thought to sell over 90% of prescriptive hearing aids worldwide. Three of the Big 5 (GN, WS Audiology, and Demant) are headquartered in Denmark, which belongs to the EU which has been hit with a 20% reciprocal tariff. Sonova is headquartered in Switzerland, which was listed as having a 31% tariff. The remaining Big 5 company, Starkey, is headquartered in the United States.

What about Canada and Mexico? Under the current United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) established in Trump's first term, hearing aids and related supplies that meet the agreement's “rules of origin” are exempt from the 25% duty. The specific rules of origin are too complex to detail in this article, but they entail factors like how many and what percentage of the devices/components are made or modified in North America versus abroad.

In my December 2024 article about trends in the US hearing aid market, I speculated on which hearing aid manufacturers were most exposed to the tariffs Trump had campaigned on. However, since the president's win in the November elections, the Big-5 have shifted what they can of their production to safeguard against a potential trade war—although they probably didn’t anticipate the severity of the tariffs unveiled on April 2. They also imported and stockpiled many more devices than usual ahead of the tariffs. Additionally, many have already embarked on the worldwide trend of “near-shoring,” moving manufacturing closer to their major markets. For example, WSA opened a large state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Tijuana, Mexico, in 2023.

It’s not transparent where each company manufactures its US-imported hearing aids, or which facilities operate primarily as custom labs or service centers. Many of the Big 5 may have very complex supply chains (e.g., GN also manufactures Jabra headsets and SteelSeries e-gaming equipment).

With semiconductor chips and specialized miniature electronic switches, receivers, microphones, lithium-ion batteries, and myriad parts, the manufacturing of hearing aids (as well as charging stations, accessories, packaging, etc.) relies on a large supply chain. Indeed, if the tariffs end up applying to hearing devices, all of the Big 5 companies would be affected because their production and supply chains are at least partially global. However, compared to some other companies in MedTech, hearing aid manufacturers may be more flexible in their production and not be impacted as much by tariffs.

The bottom line effect on hearing aid prices

We want to stress that we completely agree with Sawalich’s assessment. The dust is still settling, and we won’t know how the tariffs will impact hearing aid prices or the cost of diagnostic equipment—if they apply to them at all. It’s possible we won’t know for weeks or even months.

Should consumers hurry up and buy a hearing aid before the tariffs lead to price increases in hearing care offices? Even if tariffs do apply to hearing aids, it’s unclear how much they might be absorbed by manufacturers and providers. At this point, it appears unlikely their effect would raise prices of most prescription hearing aids by more than $100-$200 for consumers—unless the tit-for-tat trade war broadens and intensifies.

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids from China are a different story. Many of these that compete in the lowest-price segment (under $500 per set), might find the US OTC market much more challenging if their primary unique selling point is price.

Presently, it’s not a bad idea to buy a hearing aid now if you think you’re going to purchase one in the next couple of months anyway. For any other timeline, we’ll just tell you the truth: we don’t know.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on April 10 and April 16.