For years hearing aids were very expensive but recipients received free hearing checks, free batteries, free hearing aid cleanings, free hearing aid adjustments and more. Many people will want to continue to go to a professional audiologist for their hearing aids.
Finally after decades of effort, people can now choose a cheaper option to get better hearing.
The Washington Post reports:
Apple said Monday that its AirPods Pro 2 will soon double as an FDA-approved hearing device. The long-anticipated move comes two years after the Food and Drug Administration green-lit the sale of hearing aids over the counter. Some brands such as Jabra already make traditional aids you can order directly online without a prescription, while companies including Sony started making earbuds with hearing enhancement for people with mild to moderate hearing loss…
Apple said that after FDA clearance in the fall, the hearing features will be available via a software update. The AirPods Pro 2 will cost $249.
To set up hearing enhancement, users can take a hearing test inside the Apple Health app that’s based on the pure-tone test used by audiologists. The results of the test automatically adjust your AirPods’ sound levels, or you can download the test as a PDF to show an audiologist. (You can also input existing hearing test results into the Health app.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/09/apple-airpods-hearing-aids
This means that many people who otherwise would need to spend $3-5,000 per hearing aid maybe able to get better hearing for just $249.
Until recently the FDA required a doctor’s prescription to get hearing aids. Consumer advocates began pushing back against these restrictions in 1993. In 2015, the Presidents Council on Science and Technology recommended making hearing devices more widely available.
Finally, Congress acted in 2017 when it passed the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act sponsored by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Chuck Grassley. President Trump signed it into law.
This law mandated that the FDA write the enabling regulations by 2020. The FDA just ignored the law and did nothing. Finally, President Biden signed an executive order requiring the FDA write the regulations and enable the legislation.
You can read more about how the FDA acted to protect hearing aid manufacturers from competition in this article. You’ll learn how some hearing aid manufacturers owned the hearing aid clinics and employed the hearing aid doctors.
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/how-joe-biden-engineered-apples-new
It’s very hard to make bureaucracies change the status quo inside federal, state or local government. It isn’t easy but it can be done and this example shows it is worth the fight.
To learn more about Apple’s Hearing Test and forthcoming Apple Pod Pro go here:
https://www.apple.com/airpods-pro/hearing-health
Richard Emmons is the Publisher and Editor of the Oregon Eagle.