US Lawmakers: Hearing Aid Manufacturers Tried To Undermine OTC Proposal

Deceptive comments were meant to mislead; Hearing Industries Association in hot water?

Some of the top hearing aid firms engaged in fraudulent messaging to undercut the sale of hearing aids directly to consumers, according to a bipartisan Senate investigation.

Hearing Loss
• Source: Shutterstock

Nearly half of the comments submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration on the agency’s proposed rule to establish an over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid category were part of scheme by some in the industry to undermine and weaken the proposal, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Chuck Grassley, R-IA, allege.

The FDA in January received more than a thousand comments to a proposed rule it published in October 2021 that would allow consumers with “mild to moderate” hearing loss to purchase the devices without a prescription

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