Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Coming
Today, those with hearing loss have only two avenues to pursue when seeking hearing aides: the traditional route, which is typically higher in costs, involves seeking help from an audiologist, or the direct-to-consumer route, which may be cheaper, but still costs thousands of dollars.
These high costs and hurdles opened the gates for a new FDA approved category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing devices that could provide guidelines for more inexpensive options for anyone over the age of 18 with mild to moderate hearing loss by 2020.
While an estimated 30 million Americans have hearing loss, only about one to three in 10 adults over age 50 who might benefit from hearing aids use them. This matters because hearing loss can lead to social isolation, a decline in memory and thinking skills, and a higher risk for dementia. But hearing aids, the primary treatment for hearing loss in older adults, simply aren’t an option for many Americans due to high costs.
