Over-the-counter hearing aids are coming soon
1 big thing
Axios
4.0 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 17 August 2022
⏱️ 10 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning. Welcome, Maxios today. It's Wednesday, August 17th. I'm Nyla Boudou. Here's |
| 0:09.6 | what we're covering. The Afghan still left behind one year after U.S. withdrawal. Plus, |
| 0:15.4 | the money to fuel this Chinese next chapter. But first, the new FDA rule that could affect |
| 0:20.9 | millions of Americans with hearing loss. That's our one big thing. |
| 0:30.0 | Hearing aids will soon be easier than ever to get. The FDA announced yesterday that it's |
| 0:35.8 | clearing the way for a new category of hearing aids that people with mild or moderate hearing |
| 0:41.4 | loss can buy over the counter without an exam fitting or prescription. This is huge news for |
| 0:47.9 | millions of Americans who currently struggle to access or pay for hearing aids in this country, |
| 0:53.3 | which can cost thousands of dollars. Maxios' Tina Reed has been covering this story |
| 0:58.6 | with. Hi, Tina. Hi, Nyla. Tina, the idea that a hearing aid could cost thousands of dollars. |
| 1:05.5 | Actually, one of our producers, Mom, she paid $6,000 for hearing aid and insurance didn't |
| 1:11.6 | cover that. Is that typical? Yes. So getting a hearing aid can be pretty expensive, usually |
| 1:17.6 | between $2,000 and $7,000. Actually, during a call with reporters, FDA Commissioner Robert |
| 1:24.7 | Caleb even commiserated with consumers saying it costs his mother-in-law $5,000 for her hearing aid. |
| 1:30.7 | And those costs aren't covered by Medicare or private insurance. So I know this move was a while |
| 1:35.8 | in the making. How will it actually make things easier and hopefully cheaper? So this creates a |
| 1:42.2 | completely new category for hearing aids, apart from the hearing aids designed for people with |
| 1:48.3 | serious hearing loss, and opens up innovation to create these devices, which are essentially |
| 1:55.4 | these high-tech devices in your ears that amplify sound, for people with mild to moderate hearing |
| 2:01.4 | loss. It also cuts out the need to have specialized fittings or a prescription from a health care |
| 2:08.0 | provider, which obviously requires having this go and see a specialist. So there's a number of |
| 2:12.5 | different areas where either healthcare costs are being cut out or where innovation could potentially |
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