The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care identified it as the single greatest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia. Untreated hearing loss can increase the risks of social isolation and depression and contribute to falls. People with mild to moderate hearing loss may experience problems understanding conversations when they are in groups, when there is background noise and when they are on the phone they may have to ask others to speak louder or repeat themselves, and turn up the television volume. Self-perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, the condition that these devices are designed to address, affects about one-quarter of people in their 60s, half of those in their 70s and three-quarters of those over 80. For now, many of the available over-the-counter products have already been offered online, but companies are likely to unveil new devices in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Prices are likely to fall over time, “like everything else in consumer electronics,” especially as competition increases, Dr. Bose Corporation and Lexie Hearing will introduce a new self-fitted over-the-counter aid for about $900, well below traditional prices but “still a price point people will think twice about,” Ms. Sony has announced a partnership with WS Audiology Denmark, one of the big five hearing aid manufacturers, but has not revealed specifics. Prices will range from $200 to $3,000, the company said. Customers will be able to use an online hearing assessment tool and choose from nine over-the-counter brands with help from sales staff members, who will undergo specialized training. ![]() But some details have emerged.īest Buy, for instance, will open hearing centers in more than 300 stores by late October. So far, manufacturers and retailers have said little about new products, prices and distribution. Pandemic-related shortages and supply chain snafus have not helped. The agency took five years instead, and the long delay and continued industry opposition made manufacturers skittish about investing, Dr. three years to develop standards for safe and effective over-the-counter hearing aids. But the shift won’t materialize right away, experts say. In an ideal scenario, a person would be able to walk into almost any pharmacy or big-box store and buy a sophisticated pair of hearing aids for a few hundred dollars, no prescription required. We need time to see how the market settles out.” Lin said.īut, he quickly added, “it may be the Wild West for the next few years.”īarbara Kelley, the executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America, concurred: “It’s a new frontier, and it is confusing. In contrast, the regulations provide “a clear glide path for new companies to enter this field,” Dr. ![]() ![]() For decades, the sale of hearing aids was restricted to licensed audiologists and other professionals that has kept prices high - prescription hearing aids can cost $4,000 to $5,000 - and access limited. “Ninety-plus percent of adults with hearing loss have needs that can be served by over-the-counter hearing aids,” he said. Frank Lin, the director of the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health and a longtime supporter of the regulations, which Congress authorized five years ago. “It finally, actually happened after all these years,” said Dr. It just won’t transform as quickly or as dramatically, at least at first, as advocates, technology and consumer electronics companies and people with mild to moderate hearing loss have been hoping. 17, when the Food and Drug Administration’s new regulations, announced in August, will make quality hearing aids an over-the-counter product. The world of hearing health will change on Oct.
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