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The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

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Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#51

Post by cf100clunk »

nonameiguess wrote: post #39
cf100clunk wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add better integration with mobile devices beyond bluetooth. I'm thinking a startup could create hearing aids with self-tuning apps that employ spectral analysis and echolocation capabilities for improving situational awareness of the wearer.

High-end hearing aids already do this on-device. I don't think it would be a great development to require hearing aid owners to own a smart phone and load an app onto it to be able to get full functionality out of their hearing aids. If the functionality needs to be externally configurable for some reason, provide an external controller that comes with the hearing aids.

Yep, agreed on that - I was positing a better smartphone suite of capabilities but not that hearing aids require smartphones.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#52

Post by kempbellt »

tshaddox wrote: post #26
kristofferR wrote: post #7

Contact lenses next? It's amazingly stupid that I, as a tourist, who knows exactly what types of contacts I need, may need to get a US prescription for contacts.

Is this really a problem in practice? I've always had a valid prescription when I buy glasses, but at the glasses store I just flash them the prescription on my phone for a few seconds. It's a PDF on official looking letterhead, but I don't think there's any verification. I suppose it's probably not the best idea to fake an eyeglass prescription, but it certainly seems like it would be very easy to do.

For contacts, it's incredibly frustrating when your eyes barely change over many years, but prescriptions only last two years (or one, depending on state). You may need to resupply on contacts, but are not able to purchase them without a new prescription.

You can be 1 year and 11 months into your prescription and buy 4 years worth of lenses, but at the two year mark, you can't purchase them at all without another visit to the doctor and explicit approval for a specific prescription.

My particular annoyance is that I usually buy a year or two worth of lenses at a time - one set usually lasts a month, but I don't wear them every day. So I can stretch out the time a bit further. By the time I'm down to my last set and want to resupply, I'm required to visit an optometrist. Spending money on another eye exam that tells me nothing new. It's even more frustrating if I completely run out and have to use a set longer than is ideal while waiting for an opportunity to visit a doctor.

I get that wearing the wrong prescription lenses isn't ideal, but I don't understand why prescription lenses are gatekept like narcotics. If you can't see well or have the wrong prescription, there's a natural incentive to visit an optometrist and figure out exactly what you need.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#53

Post by cronix »

TylerE wrote: post #13
cf100clunk wrote: post #2

"People with mild or moderate hearing loss" should be free to purchase these sort of generic hearing aids in much the same way that buying non-prescription reading glasses is common. If problems persist, it is time to consult a professional.

An improperly tuned hearing aid can make your hearing worse though...actively causing further damage.

I'm sure that's true. I'm also pretty sure that number is a lot smaller than the number of people in the general population who permanently damage their hearing using non-prescription headphones that they can purchase anywhere to listen to music every year.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#54

Post by funnyflamigo »

braum wrote: post #12
cf100clunk wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just elderly people. Rechargable devices would be a boon.

I wear hearing aides every day. SMALLER would be better and mine have BT5 and rechargeable. they are NOT cheap about $6k pair with 3 year complete warranty included. Again having options is the best thing, making them larger for me would mean they are more easily dislodged when I bend over to pick something up or are wearing them when working in shop. Having some that have better weather or fully waterproof would be…

Did insurance pay for them at all? Part of it is going to be the whole "medical equipment" thing, the other is where they play games with the price because they know insurance will step in.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#55

Post by JCM9 »

There are a number of healthcare areas in the US that have been protected by regulation, but it’s increasingly unclear if this is good for patients, consumers, or public health at large. The increasing sentiment seems to be probably not.

Vision care is another area I’d expect to see more changes and disruption coming down the pipeline. Vision care is very important and advanced cases require special skills, but it’s also unclear why many routine checks couldn’t just be done by a family doctor.

The US requires one to see a “doctor of optometry” to get a basic single vision prescription. That industry used to make its money turning around and selling you glasses from the same office but that whole industry has been turned upside down by online retailers like Warby Parker and such. Why the US can’t follow the models followed most elsewhere in the world is unclear, but it would remove a lot of extra steps and costs in getting a basic care of glasses. Ophthalmology (medical doctors) are still very much a thing but most countries don’t have this model of needed a “prescription” from an optometrist for a basic pair of single vision specs.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#56

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

jedimastert wrote: post #32
kristofferR wrote: post #7

Contact lenses next? It's amazingly stupid that I, as a tourist, who knows exactly what types of contacts I need, may need to get a US prescription for contacts.

Is that true? I've ordered all of my glasses online for the past few years, and they've never asked for anything other than a form to fill out.

I don’t buy online because I want to see how they look on my face first.

Many shops won’t sell you glasses unless your prescription is under 1 year old. This allows them to charge you for an exam when you don’t necessarily need it.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#57

Post by pugworthy »

elliekelly wrote: post #6
kiba wrote: post #5

Some feature requests for hearing aid: Can we get hearing aids that are bigger? These small hearing aids make it easier to lose, and I do not mind looking "disabled" to people. Also would like to use bluetooth to both locate the hearing aids, and to connect to devices as needed. Would be cool if the battery can be recharged as needed, maybe through usb-c if possible, but magnetic charging would be acceptable.

Do most elderly people even have the dexterity to use the teeny hearing aids on the market today?

You may not have meant to, but your question just reinforces the fallacy that hearing aids are for old people. Yes, hearing loss does occur with age for many, but it's not as uncommon as you might think for those not deemed "elderly".

I've personally worn them since my mid 20's. I'm glad that I ignored the perceived stigma of wearing hearing aids and got them. They are like glasses for my ears.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#58

Post by Turing_Machine »

kfprt wrote: post #36
causi wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heck, imagine if prescription glasses were only available from government-certified vendors. We'd be back to paying $700 a pair like the bad old days.

Glasses are a huge ripoff due to the industry being a monopoly with no help from the government.

There are some online retailers that have pretty good prices.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#59

Post by 14 »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #19
TylerE wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An improperly tuned hearing aid can make your hearing worse though...actively causing further damage.

We really need prescriptions for headphones to save people from themselves.

I don’t know about that but if there was a quality headphone that limited how loud my kid can play things and stopped spikes of loud audio during the loud parts of movies I would buy it today.

Re: The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

#60

Post by Vecr »

the__alchemist wrote: post #11

Great news. I've been learning about and implementing real-time DSP algorithms for audio enhancement. (Cortex-M7) I started this hoping to make scifi headphone that enhance hearing for normal people with different presets, but realized what I'm essentially building is more like a hearing aid. Didn't even realize the regularly issue. (Although using the article's terminology, could probably already market this as a PS…

I'm pretty sure That's what 3M Peltor Comtac headsets do, they have microphones on the outside and speakers on the inside, without passing through gunshots or explosions, so you can maintain situational awareness in a combat situation.
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