What You Need to Know
This summer, the Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act was passed. But what does that mean for the future of assistive hearing?
Over-The-Counter (OTC) hearing aids are a new category of hearing aids that will soon be available for purchase in stores and online without a prescription. The bill was passed in an effort to decrease prices and increase accessibility to hearing devices, but many audiology professionals are concerned that they are not a viable solution.
Despite the bill being passed, the FDA hasn’t released standards for the new devices, which could put users at a disadvantage.
"The FDA has until August 18, 2020 to propose new regulations that will define and regulate the new OTC hearing aid device category".
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association President Gail Richard said in a statement that “greater degrees of hearing loss are serious medical conditions with broader health implications...people who experience greater than a mild degree of hearing loss could take the misguided step of trying to seek relief via OTC solutions. A better course of care would involve treatment overseen by a certified and licensed audiologist.”
Today’s leading audiologists do not recommend OTC hearing instruments, and are concerned that using them as a replacement for professional audiology treatment may actually cause more harm than good. Consumers could be doing themselves a disservice if they have a potentially treatable hearing loss and forgo a hearing evaluation. What's more, not all hearing loss is amenable to hearing aids; an individual has no way of knowing their prognosis for benefit without an evaluation.
So when it comes to your hearing health, don’t sell yourself short - or put yourself in danger. The best, safest option is to consult your audiologist about the treatment plan that’s right for you.