Listen up: Cheaper, sleeker over-the-counter hearing aids may hit shelves next year

In theory, millions of Americans with mild-to-moderate hearing loss should be able to walk into a drug store today, buy devices akin to smartphone earbuds and re-engage with the audible world as they exit the store. That they can't is another thing to blame on the pandemic

The Food and Drug Administration, its hands full with the health crisis, missed its August 2020 deadline to propose rules for selling hearing aids over the counter under a 2017 law, according to the National Institutes of Health. President Joe Biden last month signed an executive order nudging the agency to finish draft rules within 120 days. If that happens, it could take about a year for the products to start appearing in drugstores, experts say. When the FDA eventually does issue final rules, experts hope it will unleash competition among consumer electronics companies for a global market that some estimate should jump 40% to  $11.6 billion by 2028. Currently, only a handful of specialty device makers dominate the hearing aid market.