Over-the-counter hearing aids will be available to tens of millions of Americans for the first time, officials said Tuesday, bringing prices down from $5,000 a pair.
“For many Americans suffering from hearing loss, safe, effective, and high-quality hearing aids have been unaffordable,” Health Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters in a briefing.
The promotion, due to take effect in October, would reduce the cost of a pair of hearing aids by an estimated $2,800 per pair by eliminating the need to see a doctor or audiologist, added Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council in the White House, added .
Currently, a pair of hearing aids costs about $5,000 a pair in the United States – far more than in other advanced countries like the UK, where the devices are free.
Children and people with severe hearing loss would still need a prescription.
President Joe Biden, who called for the move in an executive order issued last year, said in a statement the rule “fulfills my commitment to reducing costs for American families … to give people more opportunities to manage their health and well-being.” to enhance. ”
One in eight people in the United States — about 30 million people — ages 12 and older have hearing loss in both ears, based on standard hearing tests, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The new rule applies to hearing aids, which work by air conduction and take amplified sound down the ear canal, where it travels through the eardrum and middle ear to reach the inner ear, where the processed signal is sent to the brain.
People with more severe hearing loss may need bone conduction hearing aids that bypass the outer and middle ear.
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