Over-the-counter hearing aids expected
this fall in US
Associated Press,
by
Matthew Perrone
Original Article
Posted By: Dreadnought,
8/16/2022 1:11:06 PM
Washington - Millions of Americans will be able to buy hearing aids without a prescription later this fall, under a long-awaited rule finalized Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration said the new regulation cuts red tape by creating a new class of hearing aids that don’t require a medical exam, a prescription and other specialty evaluations. The devices will be sold online or over-the-counter at pharmacies and other retail stores.
The devices are intended for adults with mild to moderate hearing problems. The FDA estimates that nearly 30 million adults could potentially benefit from hearing aids, but only about one-fifth of people with hearing problems use the devices currently.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Gordon Mills 8/16/2022 1:26:52 PM (No. 1249959)
Define 'mild'. If your hearing is 'mildly' affected you really don't need a hearing aid. If you don't get the correct correction you are only amplifying the noise you already don't quite understand.
18 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
stablemoney 8/16/2022 1:38:43 PM (No. 1249969)
I hope this helps some people.
15 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Ribicon 8/16/2022 1:41:43 PM (No. 1249973)
These seem to be a massive ripoff compared with other consumer electronics, from the cost of the hearing aids to the ongoing visits to providers. FTA: "Cost is a big obstacle now. Americans can pay more than $5,000 for a hearing aid, between the device itself and fitting services. Insurance coverage is limited and Medicare doesn’t pay for hearing aids, only diagnostic tests."
10 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Hermit_Crab 8/16/2022 1:43:05 PM (No. 1249975)
Considering you already can buy 'hearing aids' that aren't allowed to be called Hearing Aids, without an exam, prescription etc, I assume this is another FDA scam to enrich their friends and pad their taxpayer funded salaries with 'alternative income streams' like they get from 'Big Pharma'.
My parents got scammed out of $30,000 by one of the well known 'Hearing Aids Companies" for devices with about $75.00 worth of electronics inside of about $75.00 of custom molded plastic each.
I wonder if this is a step towards getting hearing aids covered by medicare, so they can scam the taxpayers in general,
16 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Illinois Mom 8/16/2022 1:47:16 PM (No. 1249977)
I will be first in line. After 47 years I am going to give them to my husband and prove once and for all that his hearing is selective. He has no problems with anyone else but he can't hear a word I say.
41 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 8/16/2022 1:51:33 PM (No. 1249981)
I hope this will help me. The last set I bought from Hearing Rehab Center cost me $5k apiece. I like the wi fi feature, these were pricey, $5k apiece. Bought these when I still had a corporate medical plan before I retired. When in the car, the on-board phone system pipes right into the hearing aids. How cool is that. My company's medical covered most of the cost. But if this program in the AP piece is legit and for those of you who suffer from moderate hearing loss like me, you have something very nice waiting for you although there are other inexpensive options out there. Amazing what a little competition can accomplish.
Don't wait, you will be amazed at what you are missing once you hear properly again. You will be able to hear all 21 consonants (and your wife mumbling something from clear across the house) again!
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Proud Texan 8/16/2022 2:00:55 PM (No. 1249986)
#5 Take it easy on your husband. My ex-wife said the same thing about my hearing. It IS selective, but seemingly on a random basis. I can't understand what want to hear, and don't want to hear a lot of what I can. (I actually did like her vice, by the way.) By random, I do mean random.
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 8/16/2022 2:15:56 PM (No. 1249994)
The problem with the hearing aid market is the business model. They charge you an arm and a leg up front for hearing aids with proprietary software but then provide service for free to keep you coming back. Hearing aids need to have open source software so other audiologists can adjust the hearing aids you bought from another manufacturer. This would break the price monopoly.
People think hearing loss is simply a volume issue. This is not true. Hearing loss is the loss to hear certain frequencies. The amplification of those "lost" frequencies is what is needed, not simply higher volume. It is like reading a book with a large percentage of the letters missing. When speaking to a person with hearing loss face them, speak distinctly, and slow down your speech.
15 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
mc squared 8/16/2022 2:35:40 PM (No. 1250010)
As Seen On TV!
7 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Plex 8/16/2022 3:20:20 PM (No. 1250049)
MDHearing.com has been selling aids for several years. Some models are tuneable (levels by frequency) and controlled via bluetooth with your smart phone. Hundreds of dollars, not thousands.
4 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
obdurate 8/16/2022 4:04:26 PM (No. 1250081)
Huh?
4 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
joew9 8/16/2022 4:09:28 PM (No. 1250088)
Hearing aids have been notoriously overpriced for decades. Anything that gets paid for by some near government entity other than the consumer gets way overpaid.
Recently we were given a wheel chair as part of a hospital stay that was paid for by medicare.
We got the bill. They charged $3000 for the chair. After the insurance and medicare paid their portion our portion is $500. The exact same chair is on Amazon for $140.
7 people like this.
My trouble is not hearing, I can hear noises just fine, frequently noises nobody else seems to notice. I have difficulty understanding speech, especially if the speaker has an accent. I have had to resort to closed captioning for that reason alone.
I imagine any device that would help me would be mighty pricey.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
privateer 8/16/2022 4:49:09 PM (No. 1250135)
Maybe some kind of broadcast mind-control device for those who do not already have 5G cell phones.
1 person likes this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
hershey 8/16/2022 8:34:23 PM (No. 1250354)
Strange..I didn't go through all that crap for the last two sets of aids....
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Gallo3 8/16/2022 9:56:31 PM (No. 1250394)
Get the Walker Game Ear for $200 at Scheels or Cabelas. Made in the same Chinese factory as the $7500 models. Only drawback- it doesn't hookup to your I phone for EQ.
BFD.
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
DVC 8/16/2022 10:21:11 PM (No. 1250418)
Five to ten thousand dollars for a $100 device. Total ripoff.
1 person likes this.
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