The FDA Just Announced a Huge Change to How Hearing Aids Are Sold — What It Means for Millions of Americans
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Hearing aids will now be available over-the-counter as soon as mid-October for millions of Americans, reports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
On Tuesday, the FDA announced a new rule, which allows people to get hearing aids at local drugstores and online — without a prescription or medical exam.
In addition to lowering costs, the FDA hopes the change will encourage technological innovation in the hearing-aid industry, which is currently made up of a relatively small number of manufacturers.
Approximately 30 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, but only about a third of them get hearing aids, according to studies the FDA cited.
FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. described hearing loss as a "critical public health issue."
"It affects the ability of millions of Americans to effectively communicate in their daily social interactions," he said.
And yet, getting fitted for hearing aids is not covered by basic Medicaid and is often not covered by other types of insurance. Federal officials estimate hearing aids cost an average of $2,800, according to The New York Times.
President Biden says lowering that cost is part of his commitment to making healthcare more affordable for American families, "and giving people more choices to improve their health and wellbeing," he said in a statement.
"It's the latest action we are taking to make our economy more competitive and less concentrated," Biden, 79, continued. "When too few companies dominate, American consumers pay higher costs."
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Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke about the significance of the matter as well, and said, "Reducing health care costs in America has been a priority of mine since day one and this rule is expected to help us achieve quality, affordable health care access for millions of Americans in need."
Becerra added, "Today's action by the FDA represents a significant milestone in making hearing aids more cost-effective and accessible."
