The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) released a report, “The Promise of Assistive Technology to Enhance Activity and Work Participation,” on May 7, which includes a chapter on hearing-related technology.
This pilot study indicates that individuals supported by a hearing care professional experienced significantly better participant outcomes across all metrics, including daily usage of the hearing solution, how well each solution met expectations, and overall satisfaction rates.
Among a dozen recommendations, the Committee on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care for Adults would like to see the FDA establish an over-the-counter class of hearing devices, an end to the "waiver system," hearing aids that have open programming, and portability of consumers' audiograms and hearing aid programming information.