People with mild to moderate hearing loss will be able to buy hearing aids online or in stores without a prescription -- and for a lower price -- starting October 17.
Over-the-counter hearing aids to be sold nationwide to make the devices more accessible and more affordable.
Tens of millions of people have hearing loss, but only about 16% of them use a hearing aid, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Knowing your hearing number is as important as any other health data, Lin said, such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels or cholesterol.
Best Buy plans to offer an extended return policy of 60 days, for example, while Walgreens gives people 45 days to try out the products. "I think, fortunately, the way the FDA crafted the language, the regulation is really well thought-out," Lin said. "To basically give consumers information they'll need to make an informed decision while at the same time creating the performance characteristics to guarantee that a device on the market will actually be reasonably safe and effective.