Senator Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) office announced that he met with Iowa Audiology President and CEO Dr Jason Aird to discuss the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) finalization of a key rule allowing hearing aids to be sold over-the-counter – a “bipartisan effort Grassley has led for over five years.”
The FDA is now months away from finalizing the OTC hearing aid regulation. That’s why it has never been more important for hearing healthcare professionals to act – and act quickly – to have their voices heard by the decisionmakers in Washington, DC.
Their latest letter follows a December 2019 letter in which they also urged the FDA to finalize rules for OTC hearing aids.
While hearing care professionals might perceive OTC/DTC as a threat or detrimental to their professional autonomy and livelihood, authors Rupa Balachandran and Amyn Amlani show how there are opportunities to meet the demand of listeners with impaired hearing through the provision of revenue-generating professional services. These service opportunities allow for the preservation of the independent practice channel for those practitioners who understand and recognize the economics of the transformed, and continually evolving, US hearing healthcare environment.
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The findings, made by a University of Michigan team using data from nearly 115,000 people over age 66 with hearing loss and insurance coverage through a Medicare HMO between 2008 and 2016, are published in the “Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.”
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In a segment on CBS News’ ‘Sunday Morning’ show, contributor and Yahoo Finance tech critic David Pogue examines the low rate of hearing aid adoption in comparison to the percentage of people over 70 with hearing difficulties.
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On the eve of major changes in the regulations governing the distribution of hearing aids in the United States, including the new upcoming class of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing devices, MT10 looks at consumers’ perceptions about hearing aids and personal sound amplification products (PSAPs)—as well as their attitudes about OTC devices and do-it-yourself hearing care.
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It now appears the “OTC regulatory debate” could potentially follow the same general timeframe as the 2020 presidential race—starting with proposed rules by the FDA in November of this year.
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The purpose of this study was to understand perceptions of audiologists with regards to a novel service delivery model that involves the use of community healthcare workers (CHWs) in audiology.
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The researchers, whose analysis is based on Medicare survey data and appears in the January issue of “Health Affairs,” suggest that the federal government expand Medicare and/or Medicaid coverage of hearing care services.
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To maintain consumer safety while dispensing hearing aids and other hearing amplification devices when licensed providers are not involved, a multidisciplinary research team developed the Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment (CEDRA) questionnaire, which is designed to identify the risk of diseases with ear and hearing symptoms.
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On October 5, the FDA granted De Novo status to Bose Corporation for a self-fitting hearing aid for mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
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A letter by the FDA’s William Maisel cautions that hearing devices cannot use “OTC hearing aids” in their marketing since the FDA definition of this hearing aid class—which would probably include severity of loss and other important safety, quality, and labeling requirements—has not yet been established.
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This article offers a brief review of select audiological literature related to follow-up visits and their importance, common activities, and best practices, and also presents a field study that examines, in detail, one practice’s follow-ups and outcomes.
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The developer of Clementine Wear is Samplified Audio—an Ontario, Canada-based company—that was founded by hearing industry veterans Mario Augustyniak and Mark Kaal.
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Following the announcement of the passage of the legislation into law, several organizations released statements supporting the bill.
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The app is marketed for people with mild to moderate hearing loss that occasionally struggle in noisy situations, according to the company’s CEO.
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The online survey was conducted between August 1 and August 8, 2017, reportedly for the purpose of exploring the views of audiologists on the subject of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. A total of 566 US-based audiologists completed the survey.
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