On October 17, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids can be sold in online and offline stores, without hearing tests needed. From that time on, people with hearing loss issues can access support easily at much lower budgets. You might feel curious about this new OTC hearing aids, now in this guide we will analyze the differences between OTC and prescription hearing aids.
OTC hearing aids are for mild to moderate hearing loss while prescription hearing aids are for all kinds of hearing loss.
Over-the-counter hearing aids are designed for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. Signs that you may have mild to moderate hearing loss include: You often ask people to repeat themselves or speak up, speech sounds muffled, you have trouble hearing in noisy places or you turn up the volume on the TV higher than other people prefer.
OTC hearing aids are much easier to access than prescription hearing aids.
OTC hearing aids can be bought directly from online or offline stores, you don’t even need a hearing test since it can be adjusted on your own. But for prescription hearing aids, you must visit a hearing healthcare professional or audiologist, received a hearing test, and then had an appointment to be fit with prescription hearing aids.
Affordable OTC hearing aids cost substantially less than prescription aids.
Prescription hearing aids cost on average about $4,600 per pair, though premium models are priced as high as $12,000. OTC hearing aids are much lower than the prescription ones, more suitable for people on a budget. At KlearHearing, a pair of Bluetooth OTC hearing aids cost less than $100.
OTC hearing aids can be adjusted by the user while prescription aids require the help from a hearing professional.
With an otc hearing aids, users can configure them at home under the help of the user manual, since most of the otc hearing aids are easy to setup and use. They can be adjusted to suit your hearing loss conditions, just like some electronics or smart gadgets. Prescription hearing aids, on the other hand, must be programmed by a hearing professional according to your hearing tests to suit your hearing conditions. You will have regular follow-up appointments for fine-tuning and maintenance.
OTC hearing aids have modern designs than prescription hearing aids.
Unlike the traditional look of prescription hearing aids, otc hearing aids have more designs. Some of them look just like normal Bluetooth earphones, such as H15 at klearhearing.com. people don’t notice you’re wearing hearing aids so no one will feel awkward in the crowd.
With what being said above, affordable hearing aids are bring easy access to most of the people suffering from hearing loss issues. For adults with mild to moderate hearing loss, over-the-counter hearing aids will be a great choice for you to get your hearing and life back.