U.S. health regulators on Tuesday took the final step to make hearing aids available directly to consumers in stores or online, without a consultation or prescription, a move that Biden administration officials say will lower the cost of hearing aids and make them more accessible to Americans with some hearing loss. The rule is a culmination of years of bipartisan work in Washington to make hearing aids cheaper, safe to use without an exam and to increase competition in the industry. National Economic Council Director Brian Deese on Tuesday said making hearing aids broadly accessible would boost competition to drive down costs across the industry. A HISTORIC day for Americans:@US_FDA announced that it will allow people with mild to moderate hearing loss to buy safe and affordable hearing aids right off the shelf! The FDA had issued its proposed rule on OTC hearing aids in Oct. 2021, predicting the first would come online this summer.

Source: New York Times August 17, 2022 03:48 UTC