Adults with mild to moderate hearing loss can now purchase hearing aids over the counter at stores across the United States, including Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart, or online without a prescription.
Retailers are offering over-the-counter hearing aids averaging thousands of dollars less than prescription models for as little as $199 a pair at Walmart after the Food and Drug Administration finalized a ruling in August allowing the devices to be sold to people 18 and older without a prescription, medical exam, or trip to the audiologist for the first time in the U.S.
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The long-awaited ruling is expected to encourage competition in the market to drive down prices for an estimated 30 million people who could benefit from a hearing aid because prescription devices typically cost about $5,000 a pair, and many health insurance plans do not cover the devices without a separate plan for hearing. The effort has been years in the making following Congress passing bipartisan legislation in 2017 requiring the FDA to make hearing aids available without a prescription. In July, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the FDA to take action on the issue within 120 days.
Walmart will offer over-the-counter hearing aids in over 1,000 vision centers at stores in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas and on its website, as well as in Sam’s Club locations. The cost of a pair of hearing aids will range from $199 to $999, lower than comparable prescription hearing aids averaging $4,400 to $5,500 per pair, according to a release by the Biden administration.
“Offering easy access to OTC hearing aids — something that seems quite small — is a solution that can improve our customer’s health outcomes and their ability to live better and healthier,” said Dr. John Wigneswaran, chief medical officer at Walmart, in a statement.
Pharmaceutical giant Walgreens will offer the devices at stores nationwide for $799 per pair, while CVS will begin selling a range of models at select locations starting in November. By the end of October, Best Buy says it will sell close to 20 over-the-counter hearing aids and personal sound amplification products in nearly 300 of its stores across the country. Personal sound amplification products are intended for people with normal hearing to enhance sounds in certain settings, such as bird-watching or hunting, and are not required to meet FDA standards for labeling or manufacturing, according to the FDA.
Supermarket chain Hy-Vee will also sell four over-the-counter hearing aids at 34 of its locations in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, with a goal of increasing it to 100 locations by the end of the year. The hearing aids will range from $499.99 to $999.99.
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Over-the-counter hearing aids are intended for adults with “perceived” mild to moderate hearing impairment. Indicators of hearing loss could include muffled speech or sounds, trouble hearing in a group or noisy area, or having to turn up the volume when watching TV or listening to music with other people, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Hearing aids for people with severe hearing impairment or those under 18 will still require a prescription.
