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People who are considering hearing aids are frequently surprised by the cost and start looking for a low cost alternative. There is an increasing push for over-the-counter hearing aids, just like the magnifying glasses you can buy in a chemist or at a petrol station.
Currently, there are no over-the-counter hearing aids in Australia but there are some devices that look similar to hearing aids and bill themselves as hearing devices but they are not hearing aids.
Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs) can be purchased without a hearing test and they are designed for people without hearing loss, but they are not designed to address actual hearing loss.
We go into this topic in more detail in this article.
The US Food And Drug Administration has ordered sellers of PSAPs to stop referring to their products as OTC hearing aids as the definition and specifications for the devices have not yet been released.
The FDA has until August 18, 2020 to propose new regulations that will define and regulate the new OTC hearing aid device category, and this will be followed by a public comment period which will almost certainly present the various desires and concerns of consumers, professionals, and industry. The Agency will then have up to 180 days after the close of the comment period to publish the new regulations. Under the cited FDARA section, a manufacturer cannot legally claim a hearing aid device to be an OTC product in marketing until a new categorization is finalized.
While the Americans wrangle with the features and definition of OTC hearing aids, there are a few things to consider even if the devices offered do more than simply amplify all frequencies.
Do you know the nature of your hearing loss?
Hearing loss is not the same as correcting for poor eyesight. You might have acceptable hearing across some frequencies but not others. But which ones?
Only an audiogram will tell you for certain.
An audiogram is a visual representation a person’s hearing at different pitches or frequencies. Those frequencies relate to various sounds of speech which is why you might be sure your hearing is just fine in some circumstances and not in others.
A prescribing audiologist will test your hearing in various ways to get a fuller picture of your hearing loss and to identify whether there are other medical factors are affecting your hearing such as otosclerosis, Meniere’s Disease, outer ear infections and more.
The tests your clinician should perform in addition to a Pure Tone test are Real Ear Measurement and Speech in Noise testing.
Programming Your Hearing Aids
Once again, correcting your hearing is not the same as correcting vision.
When your hearing loss has been benchmarked, your hearing aids need to be programmed. There is no ‘off the shelf’ hearing aid and you can just put on your ear and go. Hearing aids need to be custom programmed for your specific hearing loss.
Each different hearing aid manufacturer has their own specific software to program their hearing aids.
For any over-the-counter hearing aid to be effective, it will have to be programmed for your specific hearing loss. If you are not confident with computers or audio programming, you might find it difficult to get hearing aids to work well for you.
Or, manufacturers might offer a selection of ‘near enough is good enough’ range of pre-programmed aids. This might address some of your hearing loss but not all of it.
Discouragement
Poorly fitted, poorly programmed hearing aids may cause you to believe that hearing aids don’t work and that is a grave pity because untreated hearing loss has serious long-term health effects including:
- Poorer quality of life
- Increased risk of depression
- Increased risk of dementia
Prioritise Your Hearing Health
Baseline testing is essential as is working with a trusted audiologist in a long term partnership to ensure your best hearing is maximised for the longest period of time.
Considering the expertise and knowledge your audiologist possesses, over-the-counter hearing aids may not be worth the risks.
