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Hear! Hear! Industry Responds To FDA Proposal On OTC Hearing Aids

Poll finds few Americans know about the proposal

 
• By Brian Bossetta

The FDA’s recent proposal to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter without a prescription has mostly been met with approval. Many Americans, however, are unaware of the plan.

WOMAN HOLDING GRAMMOPHONE.
• Source: Alamy

Many Americans with trouble hearing never do anything about it. This is due, in large part, to the high cost of hearing aids and the hoops one must jump through – exams, fittings – to get them. But that could all change, with the US Food and Drug Administration set to approve the sale of hearing aids over the counter without a prescription or prior medical exam.(Also see "No Prescription? No Problem: FDA Draft Rule Gives Green Light To OTC Hearing Aids" - Medtech Insight, 19 October, 2021.)

Allowing consumers to purchase hearing aids directly at their local retail pharmacy or online – much like buying reading glasses – will go a long way in improving the quality...

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