ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

What Otolaryngologists Need to Know About Working with Patients as Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Become Available

by Jennifer Fink • April 18, 2022

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids will soon be available for purchase by consumers in the United States. People may be able to pick up a hearing aid somewhere between the milk and shampoo aisles at a big box store or order a hearing aid from the slick-looking website of a technology brand they’ve long trusted.

You Might Also Like

No related posts.

Explore This Issue
April 2022

Although no one yet knows exactly when OTC hearing aids will be widely available, their appearance on the market is an inevitability. Their eventual existence also marks a huge shift in the provision of hearing care services; currently, most individuals can obtain a hearing aid only after undergoing a thorough physical and audiological assessment and receiving a prescription from a licensed physician, audiologist, or hearing aid dispenser. What will happen to hearing care when individuals can buy a hearing aid as easily as they can now buy reading glasses? 

That question—one that has lingered in the background for nearly a decade—is about to be answered in real time. 

A Massive Unmet Need 

Nearly 50 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. According to the Food and Drug Administration, however, only about one-fifth of individuals who could benefit from hearing treatment currently use a hearing aid or cochlear implant. That leaves approximately 40 million Americans with untreated hearing loss.

“Hearing loss is one of the most underrecognized and undertreated health conditions in the world,” said Jed Grisel, MD, an otolaryngologist with Texoma ENT and Allergy in Wichita Falls, Texas. “And in the last 10 years, we’ve learned that untreated hearing loss increases our risk for dementia, depression, and falls. So, as Americans live longer, it’s really important that we treat hearing loss, so people can continue to live high-quality lives.” 

The push for OTC hearing aids coincided with the emergence of research demonstrating a strong causal link between hearing loss and dementia. In 2015, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology delivered a report entitled Aging America & Hearing Loss: Imperative of Improved Hearing Technologies. The report implied that the cost of hearing aids was a prohibitive factor for many Americans, noting that “hearing aids have not experienced the dramatic reduction in price or increases in features and innovations as seen in other consumer electronics” and that six companies dominated the hearing aid market. Among the report’s recommendations to then-President Barack Obama: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should create a new category for ‘basic’ hearing aids and associated hearing tests that are meant for sale over the counter.” 

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features, Home Slider, Otology/Neurotology, Practice Focus Tagged With: Hearing aids, patient careIssue: April 2022

You Might Also Like:

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name
    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?
    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • What Happens to Medical Students Who Don’t Match?
    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Neurogenic Cough Is Often a Diagnosis of Exclusion
    • Novel Bioabsorbable Plate Associated with Lower Leak Risk in Patients Receiving Endoscopic Skull Base Repair
    • New Findings Support Use of Cemiplimab as Neoadjuvant Therapy in Patients with Resectable Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
    • Kinetic Oscillation Stimulation an Effective, Lasting Second-Line Treatment for Patients with Nonallergic Rhinitis
    • Otolaryngologists Vary Significantly in Choice of Injectable Materials for Vocal Fold Injection Augmentation
    • COVID-19 Infection May Be Associated with Unique Manifestation of Facial Nerve Paralysis/Palsy

Polls

Do you believe that having more otolaryngologists appear on mainstream media outlets is a good thing for the field?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Preferences

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2023 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939