FDA finalizes rule allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter

[bigtree]

Last edited Tue Aug 16, 2022, 10:36 AM - Edit history (1)

Bharat Ramamurti @BharatRamamurti 13m
Big health care news: the FDA has finalized a rule allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter, potentially saving millions of people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss thousands of dollars. Look for hearing aids in your local drug store as early as mid-October.

Link to tweet

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Link to tweet

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-finalizes-historic-rule-enabling-access-over-counter-hearing-aids-millions-americans

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Until someone's religious beliefs are put ahead of a persons need to hear.

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[rurallib]

4. Senator Warren got this through quite a while back

Here is the story in a conversation with Robert Reich. The hearing aid part is starts at 2:00 minute in and goes to @7 minutes in:

This has been a long time a-coming

[enough]

5. We bought hearing aids from Amazon two years ago.

I guess there’s no counter with Amazon.

[fescuerescue]

6. This is good. But it's not the prescription that makes them expensive.

It's the technology and the individual tuning.

What this doing, is permitting low technolog, un-tuned hearing aids on the market.

That's a good thing! Because most people can't afford custom tuned, high technology hearing aids (mine cost $5,000..had to take a loan)

Something is better than nothing.

But the cost of high-end custom hearing aids isn't going to change much, because the writing of a prescription is easily the cheapest component.

[kskiska]

17. That's what I don't understand about this.

Mine cost around $3,000. But hearing aids aren't one size fits all. A hearing test is necessary to custom tune them. I guess for some it'll be better than nothing, but my hearing is so bad an untuned aid wouldn't help me much.

[fescuerescue]

21. Same here. My audiologist spent about 2 months over repeated visits

to get them tuned in just right.

Many folks don't understand that if you just make everything louder, the good parts of your hearing spectrum drown out the poor parts.

[kskiska]

22. And then there's the maintenance

bringing them in to be cleaned and making adjustments. It's not the same as buying reading glasses.

[Trailrider1951]

7. Oh, this is excellent!!!

I cannot hear worth a damn anymore, and I cannot afford hearing aids. My retirement income is only $1624 a month, without dipping into my meager savings. I really need just one so I can just use my cell phone or carry on a normal conversation. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

[bigtree]

8. kick

...

[MissB]

10. And isn't being able to hear linked

To staving off dementia?

[Trailrider1951]

11. Well, I don't know about that

but I'm afraid I'll end up like this guy I used to know. I would say something to him and he would say, "Huh?". Then I would repeat it a bit louder and then he would get pissed off because I raised my voice. WTF?

[leftstreet]

9. They should be free n/t

[Hortensis]

13. Nothing is free, though, and we should remember that.

We have to decide what we will subsidize through our taxes because everything we do means something else we won't have the money for -- including the growing devastating bills from climate change and catastrophes.

Maybe taxpayers shouldn't buy them for people who can afford to pay for their own?

[leftstreet]

14. A $64million F16 is free to the military

Maybe taxpayers shouldn't buy them for contractors who can afford to pay for their own?

[Hortensis]

15. And...back to who pays for "free" hearing aids for whom?

They're no more "free" than F16s are. What will YOU personally give up being able to provide to someone in need to buy hearing aids for an affluent couple about to set out on a tour of the Greek Isles?

Maybe the word "free" shouldn't be in our economic vocabularies. Because nothing is.

[Hekate]

12. This is great news. I should really be doing this-- my husband mumbles increasingly

[Hermit-The-Prog]

19. Garrett Morris can help...

[gratuitous]

16. This will be of great benefit to millions

Another terrific initiative from the Biden administration.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

18. Huh? Say again, please.

[JCMach1]

20. Now do glasses and contacts please