After years of waiting, over-the-counter hearing aids are finally going to be sold in the U.S. Walgreens Boots Alliance and Walmart announced last week that the group will begin selling hearing aids over the counter starting this month.
In August, the FDA established a rule allowing for greater access to hearing aids, which will see a multitude of U.S. retailers selling over-the-counter hearing aids. From the end of the month, adults will now be able to buy hearing aids without a medical exam, prescription, or audiologist fitting.
Walgreens has stated that it will be selling LexieLumen hearing aids in stores across the country for $799 from 17th October. Meanwhile, Walmart will start selling hearing aids to adults with mild to moderate hearing losswithout requesting proof of examination. Prices are expected to start at $200 on the Walmart website and in store vision centres. CVS Health will also sell hearing aids on its website, although it will not yet be offering them in-store.
This is a huge development for the hearing impaired who previously had to spend thousands of dollars on hearing aids purchased from hearing centres. The White House has suggested that the new rule could save consumers up to $2,800 per pair.
