OTC Hearing Aids One Year Later – Mission Accomplished?

The White House blog of August 2022 announcing the FDA’s release of the Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aid rule, which would take effect that October, highlighted the rationale for its creation: “Drive down costs, increase access, and open up a market space for creative innovation.” Andrew Bellavia (AuraFuturity) writes about the first year of the Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aid rule. It seems that just 2% of those with hearing difficulties purchased an OTC hearing aid in this time.

A wave of new developments promises to solve the most pressing need for people with milder hearing loss, allowing mass-market hearables to supplant Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aids with less stigma. Andrew Bellavia suggests the FDA’s OTC hearing aid rule (October 2022) includes assumptions that are quickly becoming obsolete as recent developments illustrate. This must read article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2023.

Predicting what trends we’ll see in hearables in 2023 seems like a fool’s errand. With the release of the OTC hearing aid rule in the United States, these are predicated on devices that can be comfortably worn for long stretches of the day in a form factor that people are willing to wear in social settings. Without that foundation, these interesting and useful applications will not achieve mass-adoption. Anticipating CES 2023, Andrew Bellavia looks for the Next Big Thing in Hearables and the Multiple Sides of Comfort.

Expanding the perspective on the evolution toward hearables, this article explores the current trends as well as the acoustical challenges and solutions for designing true wireless earphones. The article explains the enabling technologies currently converging as the TWS market continues to grow and use cases multiply, with more consumers using wireless earbuds for a diverse and varied set of applications, from listening to podcasts and audiobooks to Internet meetings and interacting with voice assistants. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2022.