It’s also about the patient with a suboptimal fit, like the AirPods Pro 2, so that they don’t conclude that ‘nothing more can be done’, when in fact there is many better solutions.
This is an issue with all medical problems: You can buy glasses at a local pharmacy or go to an optometrist who may tell you that you have glaucoma. You can buy over the counter pain medication or go to the doctor who may tell he detected a cancer early. Your points are valid and I don’t disagree with them.
Interesting topic but I think we have deviated from the original topic, maybe we should create a new one called “OTC vs Audiologist Care”
This (The Apple test) is the essence of the issue though: as one poster says above it’s been given credibility because it’s been codified by one of the biggest legislatures.
Once it becomes written in stone, people assume that it’s the ‘correct’ way of doing things. Think of your average GP: they have an iPhone, they see that AirPods are ratified as an appropriate intervention and they have (many) clients who have a degree of hearing loss.
Why wouldn’t they recommend them? Appropriate or not ?