What over-the-counter hearing aids in the U.S. could mean for Canada
CBC
Hearing aids just got dramatically cheaper in the U.S., now that major retailers and pharmacies are permitted to sell them over the counter.
The change has many Canadians wondering whether it will happen in this country.
The move to allow Americans to obtain certain hearing aids without a prescription took effect this week, more than five years after the passage of a law directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create rules for over-the-counter sales of the devices.
Studies by audiologists estimate that around three million Canadians have some degree of hearing loss that could be improved with hearing aids, yet 80 per cent don't wear them.
Cost is thought to be a major reason: the most basic hearing aids available in Canada start at around $2,000 a pair. Stigma, difficulties getting hearing aids to work properly and unwillingness to admit to a hearing problem also factor in.
Here's what you need to know about over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids.
There's broad consensus that this change will make hearing aids more affordable for millions of Americans who need them.
Until the FDA was ordered to change its rules, hearing aids could only be obtained in the U.S. with a prescription. That required a visit to an audiologist or a specialist physician, with a full-fledged hearing test and medical evaluation. The cost of all those services were rolled into the sticker price of the hearing aids.
Those requirements were unnecessary and served as "red tape and a barrier to more companies selling hearing aids," said the White House in a statement.
OTC hearing aids are intended for adults with "mild to moderate hearing loss," according to the FDA's new regulations.
Over-the-counter models would not be suitable for adults with severe hearing loss or for children.
U.S. retailers began offering hearing aids online and in store on Monday, when the new rules kicked in.
Best Buy announced it was selling 20 models at prices from $200 US to $3,000 US per pair. WalMart's prices range from $199 US to $999 US a pair, while drugstore Walgreens began selling these hearing aids for $799 US.
The companies describe these OTC hearing aids as "comparable" to versions that specialty hearing clinics sell for anywhere from $2,000 US to $8,000 US per pair.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
Lac La Ronge Indian Band's Woodland Wellness Centre has received funding to start a mobile addictions outreach program to address the opioid and mental health crisis.
Adriana Avelina Ruíz Márquez uses fake eyelash glue to attach a tiny transmitter to the thorax, just behind the head, of the monarch butterfly.
After several delays to the mission that will take four astronauts around the moon, NASA held a press conference today announcing that Artemis II is on track to launch as early as April 1.
Snuneymuxw First Nation is calling for a temporary closure and environmental investigation of a hazardous waste services company following a January oil spill on Duke Point near Nanaimo, B.C.
In February, five people were killed in separate avalanches across B.C. and Alberta. That same month, more than a dozen people were killed in California and Utah, including a particularly deadly avalanche that claimed the lives of nine. In Europe, from Andorra to Slovakia, the season has recorded 125 deaths from avalanches so far.
Getting a proper vehicle to transport people for urgent medical care is an ongoing challenge in fly-in First Nations in northwestern Ontario.
A new supergroup of musicians from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have collaborated on a Robbie Robertson-inspired song they will perform at the Junos Honouring Ceremony later this month in Hamilton.
People as young as 45 should be invited to provincial and territorial programs to screen for colorectal cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society urged on Wednesday.
The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) has opened an office and retail space in Ottawa to create a stronger presence in the capital since removing itself from the Métis National Council in 2024.
Toronto resident Winhan Wong's lung cancer journey began in 2016, with a nagging cough that just wouldn't go away.
Last month, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak pointed out on social media that history was made this year because there are a record 164 female chiefs serving across the country.
Most of humanity has a great propensity to think in the short-term, but generally, long-term considerations — air pollution, deforestation and emissions, for example — just aren't our thing.