Following the new government rule, major U.S. pharmacy operators such as Walgreens Boots Alliance and Walmart announced that they would start selling over-the-counter hearing aids starting mid-October, as per CNET.
As part of the new government rule in the U.S., you won't need a medical exam, prescription, or audiologist fitting to be able to get over-the-counter hearing aids. However, this is only for adults who have mild to moderate hearing loss.
OTC Hearing Aids Will Be Available in Walgreen, Walmart Starting October 17
The new policy on the use of hearing aids is being implemented after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it finalized the rule in August, giving Americans with mild to moderate hearing loss access to over-the-counter hearing aids.
According to Reuters, Walgreens already released a statement saying that the pharmacy will make Lexie Lumen hearing aids. This will be available for adults with hearing impairment starting October 17 at a price of $799.
Meanwhile, Walmart also announced that it would also be selling hearing aids to adults on October 17. Adults with mild to moderate hearing loss can buy the hearing aids in Walmart without an assessment or medical exam.
According to Walmart, hearing aid products will start at a price of $200. They can be purchased from Walmart.com and its vision centers.
The new ruling of the FDA created a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids. This makes the devices more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans with hearing loss problems.
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New Ruling on OTC Hearing Aids Could Help Millions of Americans
In 2017, Congress passed legislation requesting the FDA to make a category of over-the-counter hearing aids. Unfortunately, the ruling was not fully implemented.
In June 2021, a broad competition executive was signed by President Joe Biden requesting the Health and Human Services Department to promote the wide availability of low-cost hearing aids.
Now, finally, there is a new ruling from the FDA allowing sales of over-the-counter hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.
White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese said that with the new ruling, consumers could save about $2,800 per pair of hearing aids.
Tricia Ashby-Scabis, senior director of audiology practices at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, stated that the over-the-counter hearing aids are only for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.
If you're just starting to have hearing issues like struggling to hear people with high-pitched voices, you might be a candidate to get hearing aids.
"It's usually at that very early level, where people are starting to lose some of that hearing, that I'd say, 'That's a great person to think about an over-the-counter hearing aid,'" said Ashby-Scabis.
CNET noted that while the access to over-the-counter hearing aids is an excellent development in hearing health, a lot of factors should be considered in addressing it. "It really isn't just the device," said Ashby-Scabis.
Meanwhile, those who have severe hearing loss and those who are 18 years old and below still need to secure a prescription or medical exam before they can get hearing aids.
Related Article: FDA Has Approved the Sale of Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids
