October 17, 2022
30 million American adults could benefit from their use. And until today they’ve been really expensive, required a costly assessment and doctor’s prescription.
But starting today, no more. Hearing aids are available over the counter.
But there’s a little more to it than that.
It’s not all hearing aids. This only applies to certain hearing aids for those who have mild to moderate hearing impairment and are over the age of 18. But they’re now available at local drug stores like CVS or Walgreens or even at Best Buy and in some states – Walmart too.
Some of these hearing aids are going for as little as $199. Prescription hearing aids can sell for anywhere between $2000 and $8000. The FDA says 30 million Americans have hearing loss but only about one-fifth of these people use hearing aids because they’re too expensive or because of the perceived stigma.
This is all possible because in 2017 Congress passed a bipartisan law that required the FDA to create a specific category of over-the-counter hearing aids. And it took this long to go through the rule making process plus President Biden signed an executive order back in July that sped up the roll out.
Read more from the FDA here.
Read the actual new rule from the FDA here.
