I’ve been waiting to see how the new OTC hearing aids are marketed and sold. Saw an ad today that said they’re like reading glasses for your ears. Sheesh!!
I suspect there will be many more hearing aids left in dresser drawers. And many more people who believe, from their OTC experience, that hearing aids just don’t work.
What have you noticed with OTC roll out?
@cleimer101: Bingo/touché you’ve just articulated my principal objection to the OTC phenomenon.
No I don’t think this is going to happen, it’s way to early to be speculating on this at the moment, give it 6 months at least, there’s no evidence just yet, the fact that you’ll be able to program them yourself at home will see many more people enjoying the world of sound, unlike HAs at the moment where people already get frustrated and end up throwing their hearing aids in the top drawer, where they’ll stay! simply because they can’t get their respective audiologist to set them up how they want/like to hear, this issue is now totally eliminated, add the fact that you’ll no longer have to make appointments at the clinics whim (like we open 9 to 5pm- 5 day’s a week, oh we’re booked out for the next 2 weeks, so sorry you can’t hear a dam thing, but we’re looking forward to seeing you then…)
And one more thing, so many people confusing PSAPs with OTC hearing aids, two very different things.
@tenkan: You’re right - I may be conflating the two … But, as with anything, one is free to discuss the subject at any time - there are no time constraints on constructive dialogue.
In fact, somebody who works for an OTC manufacturer may read our current dialogue and come to the conclusion that their promotional materials need to have a strong educational bent, so as to minimize the type of confusion to which you are alluding .
I hope that’s the way OTC works out. But obviously I’m skeptical.
That reminds me of the claim for Phonak Lumity Life aids being so waterproof you could swim, shower, or go jump in the lake with them on. Yeah, that died HARD on the reality of trying those things out.
I guess I’d support OTC aids for the masses who DON’T have the kind of profound loss I do. Maybe there’d even be more acceptance for folks wearing aids if millions try them out and find they improve a listening experience.
I’m no physiologist, but I’d venture to guess that “reading glasses” are simply not like OTC aids. The brain/eye connection is vastly different from brain/ear, so that analogy kinda falls flat on my cinderblocks.
Even so! If OTC aids take off, improve with time, and give the bona fide hearing aid manufacturers a run for their money, GO FOR IT! 
LOL! I know. I’m kinda a broken record on the topic, ever HOPING that Phonak has marketing folks who read these posts and share our real-life experiences with their engineers & management.
Am I just dreaming? 
They are , like reading glasses for your ears, to those that don’t know any better.
Sorry. Caught up in the holiday spirit
OTCs have many faults and foibles, however they can provide some help to those who cannot afford traditional HAs. More Medicare Advantage plans are providing deep discounts on HAs, but the choices may be limited to a specific brand. Even with the discounts, they are still expensive for elders and disabled folks living on limited incomes. Maybe the current campaign to get folks tested at age 60 will steer more people onto the right path for them.
Those aids will only provide help if they fit well enough that people will wear them. My mom was one of those who threw them in a drawer because “they don’t work” and then could never be convinced that other kinds of hearing aids might work better. To me, the only remedy that doesn’t leave out people who need aids getting decent ones is when insurance companies take hearing loss seriously and cover it as the health condition that it is. Amazing to me that the World Health Organization sees hearing loss as a global health issue yet most individuals (in the U.S.) must pay from their own pocket. OTC aids help keep it that way. What other medical problem is treated this way?
All that said, since OTC’s are here, I do hope they help those who spend their money on them.
Reading glasses for your ears – THEY MAGNIFY EVERYTHING!
Just adding this news article about OTC aids for the record. Going to be a lot of companies coming and going as this market shakes out.
The only part I think that is worthwhile in the article is about the requirement of labelling them as OTC.
“WHAT TO WATCH FOR”
Look for an OTC label on the box. Hearing aids approved by the FDA for sale without a prescription are required to be labeled OTC.
That will help you distinguish OTC hearing aids from cheaper devices sometimes labeled sound or hearing amplifiers — called a personal sound amplification product or PSAP.
I think these OTC aids are just another scam. Real aids need to be matched to your hearing difficulties. How can that be done with something OTC? Is there going to be someone who can give you an audiogram? And someone to adjust them to your needs? And are they even able to be adjusted for anything besides volume?
I have already seen a certain pair of “hearing aids” that are blue and red colored clear plastic and have sold for less than $20 on Ebay and recently I received a spam email with exactly these identical (but) "new FDA cleared aids that have been recently approved for hearing loss " Blah blah blah. Being offered for the incredibly low price of only $89.99
No I don’t think so, quite a bit of time and money from everyone involved to get where we are today, OTC is the real deal.
You need to do some research before posting, OTC will allow you to DIY, you will be able to enter your audiogram or do one through an App.
OTC will allow one to adjust to their respective loss.
Post a link? They are not FDA approved OTC, so what does it matter.
Can you post a link so we can check what this is all about, this would be very concerning, nothing worse then “spam”!!
I would be astonished if this was any more than marketing hype. Adjust volume, sure. Maybe equalizers or something else that’s easy and cheap to build in. But our expensive, prescribed hearing aids will let you adjust what? My Philips, the app is pretty useless. More possibilities on the Phonak Paradise, but even then, things I couldn’t get to myself. Unless we go the Noahlink Wireless and software the audiologists use, we can’t even adjust ours to our liking. Admittedly, by and large our hearing losses aren’t mild to moderate and are often complicated ones to address. But, maybe I’ll go to our local chain drugstore and see what they have on offer and what adjustments can actually be made. Do some first-hand research. 
Yeah, pretty much.