Reading Glasses and Hearing Aids. Smart or FDA-Approved. Pick One.

Making Audio Augmentation useful for everyone, or pursue the regulatory requirements of OTC hearing aids. This article offers a useful perspective regarding the guidance documents published by the US Food and Drug Administration regarding improved access to hearing aid technology. The agency proposes a rule to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids - to be sold directly to consumers in stores or online without a medical exam or a fitting by an audiologist. But most audio manufacturers are better off by not pursuing this FDA-approved OTC market. Doing so will simply hinder critical experimentation and innovation.

It's not only the technology that is evolving much faster in consumer true wireless earbuds. It's also consumer's perception of what these products can do and its widespread appeal. Understanding that hearing aids could greatly benefit from that form-factor to surpass existing stigmas, WS Audiology's hearing-aid brand Signia is targeting a new generation of users with its Signia Active Pro earbud-style hearing aids that also offer high-tech audiological benefits.

At first glance, the reason for the decision to allow the sale of OTC hearing aids in the US is clear. The market for hearing aids is going to be driven by over-the-counter sales, according to the latest research from analyst SAR Insight & Consulting. This assertion is given weight by the news that Bose — a market leader in home audio, headphones, and automotive audio systems —is the first company to be FDA approved for a patent on OTC hearing aids. As a result, many companies are diverting their attention to the medical hearing aid market.