This matters because hearing loss can lead to social isolation, a decline in memory and thinking skills, and a higher risk for dementia. While an estimated 30 million Americans have hearing loss, only about one to three in 10 adults older than age 50 who might benefit from hearing aids use them. Until then, and perhaps long after, the world of hearing devices might be difficult to navigate. The FDA has until August 2020 to publish proposed guidelines for OTC hearing aids.Īfter that, the public - including audiologists, doctors, device makers, people with hearing loss, or anyone else with concerns - will have time to weigh in before guidelines are finalized. But OTC hearing aids, which will be approved to treat mild to moderate hearing loss in adults ages 18 and older, aren't here just yet. Those costs and hurdles are what led to the passage of a federal law in 2017 that designates a new FDA-regulated category for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids.
#Ultratron hearing aids professional
When she decided to get hearing aids, McDonell had two choices: the traditional route that requires a medical evaluation and buying through a licensed professional hearing aid dispenser, or the relatively cheaper, but still costly, direct-to-consumer option. Her hearing loss only adds to the difficulty in thinking her MS sometimes causes. "If you test my hearing when my MS is good, then my hearing isn't absolutely awful, but if you test me when my MS is having a bad day, my hearing gets worse and worse." Having multiple sclerosis makes her hearing loss worse. "The volume on my TV could probably kill the people next door," she says of her neighbors in the retirement facility where she lives in Southern Pines, NC. The 67-year-old artist and retired educator couldn't hear well enough to talk on the phone. Tommy McDonell used to have her aide take all her phone calls.
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