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Affordable Hearing Aids — Coming Soon to A Drug Store Near You
Listen up, seniors! Hear’s* what’s happening.
The FDA just announced it will begin allowing for the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids as early as next fall. That means you’ll be able to walk into your friendly pharmacy, choose your own hearing aid and pay for it without going through a physician or audiologist for a prescription.
This should provide substantial savings for those of us who have hearing loss. For a large number of seniors, the ability to skip the middle man in the supply chain will make the difference between having what we need to participate fully in the world or doing without. That’s important.
Why is it important to correct hearing loss?
The ability to hear well enough to participate in conversations is fundamental to social interaction, and an active social life provides significant benefits to our health and well-being. I say, “Huh?” a lot when conversing with others, and I know that’s irritating. I know it’s irritating because I used to be an irritated young person, repeating much of what I said to the old folks in my life because I thought they weren’t paying attention. They thought I was mumbling.
