Over-the-counter or Prescription Hearing Aids?

By Janice R. Trent, AuD

Hearing Healthcare Services, LLC

. https://hearinghealthcareservices.com/

More Hearing Health Articles

Over-the-counter or Prescription Hearing Aids?

The latest technology in hearing aids will include advances in sound processing to manage loudness input, background noise, and speech intelligibility. This is accomplished with a sophisticated array of microphones that can reduce background noise while allowing meaningful speech to be intelligible. In many cases, this is possible when the speech is coming from different directions such as from the front, side or behind of the individual.

What type of hearing aid is most appropriate is contingent on the degree of hearing loss, issues related to word processing and/or understanding, and lifestyle.

While there are many situations where an OTC hearing aid is appropriate for an adult with mild to moderate hearing loss there are other situations where a prescriptively fit hearing aid is better to meet listening needs.

To achieve an optimal hearing aid fitting, start with a hearing evaluation by a licensed audiologist who can recommend appropriate over-the-counter hearing aids or cost-effective prescription hearing aids. 

Note: While most OTC hearing aids are not covered, many prescription hearing aids are covered by medical insurances.