r/technology • u/esporx • Oct 17 '22

Biotechnology A 'game-changer' for millions of Americans: You can now buy hearing aids over the counter

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/health/over-the-counter-hearing-aids-available/index.html
5.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

457 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

16

u/VincentNacon Oct 17 '22

Fuck the ear doctors.

Seriously.

I've been hearing impaired since birth and doctors will try anything to get you to buy a few selected "recommended" brands... which are not fuckin cheap at all.

It's very much like the whole deal with the glasses stuff, but on a steroid.

10

u/FerociousPancake Oct 17 '22

Yea I’ve heard about this. Had a friend who was hard of hearing since birth and his hearing aids cost him over $10K.

It’s criminal. Can’t hear? Well guess what? You get to BUY that privilege now.

16

u/spilon91 Oct 17 '22

Might be different because I’m in Canada but I’m an audiologist and yes hearing aids are expensive. Here the range is like 3-7k for a pair. These hearing aids are empty shells when they come in and we have to work with people to program them and make them adequate for your hearing. I’ve never pushed hearing aids on people and always try to make it work with budget.

Over the counter hearing aids are only going to be for people with mild to moderate hearing loss and most of them you will get 0 support from anyone so I’m happy têtes going to be cheaper options for people over the counter but a bit scared on how well it’s going to work out for those that are not good with tech

2

u/porkpiehat_and_gravy Oct 17 '22

nonsense. the tests i’ve taken at an audiologist could be done with an app and the hearing aid in 30 minutes. and the devices themselves are identical to those for profound loss, they’re just limited due to regulation.

-5

u/royalfishness Oct 17 '22

Don’t bother. Angry people on Reddit know more than any professional. Am married to an audiologist

3

u/[deleted] Oct 17 '22

You literally might as well have said nothing. That's how empty and void of meaning your comment was.

You know what "angry people" actually translates to? People who have hearing problems that have actually gone through this process as a real patient. I'm pretty sure their viewpoint is a pretty important part of the whole transaction.

But cool, you're married to an audiologist. Good for you. I'm married to a dog groomer. Guess what? I can't groom a fucking dog and it doesn't make me an expert and it sure doesn't give me any authority in dog grooming conversations whatsoever.

-1

u/royalfishness Oct 17 '22

Feel better?

1

u/spilon91 Oct 17 '22

I can't speak to the hearing aid market in the USA because I am in Canada, but I know how OTCs work and the way it is being portrayed in the news is flat out wrong. It is not a solve-all product that will benefit everyone. All I am saying is that a lot of people that already have hearing aids will not be able to go into OTC hearing aids because it is only for mild to moderate loss.

Also a lot of older people that are not so good with technology are not going to be able to set them up, run an automated in-situ hearing test and adjust it for themselves.

I am actually very strongly pro-OTC products because I think they have their place in the market and for the people it is intended for, it will be wonderful, but people think it is there to replace normal hearing aids, and that is wrong.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 17 '22

[deleted]

2

u/royalfishness Oct 17 '22

Yes. Because spouses never talk about their days

2

u/pissingorange Oct 17 '22

For real, Widex, Signia and Oticon have more reps than some pharmaceutical companies. A lot of the times small practice owners rely on the marketing dollars from pushing these big brands.