Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized a rule change that would allow a class of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids to be available to adult consumers directly without the care and guidance of a hearing health professional. By mid-October, consumers will be able to purchase over-the-counter hearing aids (OTC HAs) online and at big-box stores, pharmacies, and even through your audiologist.
Read More
Sony Corporation (“Sony”) and WS Audiology Denmark A/S (“WSA”) announced that they have entered into a partnership agreement and various ancillary agreements with the aim of jointly developing and supplying new products and services in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) self-fitting hearing aid market, beginning with the United States.
Read More
This action establishes a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, enabling consumers with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing impairment to purchase hearing aids directly from stores or online retailers without the need for a medical exam, prescription, or a fitting adjustment by an audiologist.
Read More
USound, a provider of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) loudspeakers for hearables and wearables, announced the release of an audio module designed to enhance the performance of TWS and OTC hearing aids.
Read More
Sens Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) released the findings of their new bipartisan investigative report: Loud and Clear: Why Americans Want Effective and Affordable Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids – and How Powerful Special Interests are Trying to Undermine Them.
Read More
Yi Hu, an associate professor of electrical engineering at UWM, has designed a prototype device that, when paired with a smartphone app, approximates the audiologist experience.
Read More
Mild-to-moderate hearing loss is a difficult reality that millions of Americans struggle with, which is why the availability of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids is exciting for those who are impacted by hearing loss. While making OTC hearing aids more accessible is a promising step for consumers, we at NCL would be remiss if we didn’t underscore our concerns around the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed OTC hearing regulations as they currently exist.
Read More
The bipartisan “Delivering Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Now Act” follows the FDA’s proposed rule implementing over-the-counter hearing aids in October 2021, which was issued more than a year after the statutory deadline and over four years after the law’s passage.
Read More
Long-time hearing industry audiologist Thomas Powers, PhD, and Hearing Review Editor Karl Strom talk about four of the most important parts of the proposed OTC hearing aid regulations. Dr Powers also provides his advice about how hearing care practices and their staff members might prepare for the advent of OTC hearing aids.
Read More
Knowles Corporation, a provider of advanced micro-acoustic microphones, speakers, audio solutions, high-performance capacitors, and RF products, announced the RAQ, a new medium-power balanced armature receiver developed for high-volume hearing health and TWS products.
Read More
The Healthcare Equality Network (HEN)—a group advocating for equal, quality access to healthcare for Black Americans—recently wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposing changes to the OTC Hearing Aid Rule.
Read More
In a paper published in the “Journal of General Internal Medicine,” the researchers report that frequent use of NSAIDs or acetaminophen, or regular use of COX-2 inhibitors, was associated with higher risk of tinnitus.
Read More
Wireless earbuds and innovative audio solutions were one of the predominant themes of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Here are HR Editor Karl Strom’s three takeaways from CES2022 regarding innovation and the upcoming OTC hearing aid category.
Read More
In a letter to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) expressed their support for key provisions in the FDA’s proposed rule for regulating over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids.
Read More
Eargo, Inc (Nasdaq: EAR), a medical device company on a mission to improve the quality of life of people with hearing loss, announced the submission of public comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning its proposed rule to create a new regulatory category of over the counter (OTC) hearing aids.
Read More