Congress sounds off: Affordable hearing aids will happen in 2018

One OTC category expected to emerge in the coming year is hearing aids, which, when paired with in-store hearing aid service centers, will become a powerful solution set. Earlier this year, CVS Pharmacy opened seven hearing stores-within-stores in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area, with plans to expand significantly by year’s end.

That OTC solution set already has advocates throughout Congress. “Just as someone can correct minor sight loss by purchasing reading glasses from their local pharmacy, so too should they be able to correct minor hearing loss,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. The bipartisan legislation supporting OTC hearing aids, which is a part of the FDA Reauthorization Act, was passed by Congress in early August.

Older consumers won’t be the only ones shopping OTC hearing aids. “The fastest-growing segment is [consumers] 18 to 30 years old because of gaming and music,” said Robert Barone, head of marketing and clinical development at iHear Medical, which is offering an FDA-approved OTC solution set. Manufacturers appealing to this age group will need to keep aesthetics in mind, he added. “The stigma [associated] with hearing loss is big,” he said.

The market for discrete hearing aids is only going to get bigger. The number of adults ages 20 years or older with hearing loss is expected to gradually increase from 44 million in 2020 (15%) to 74 million by 2060 (23%), according to a study published earlier this year by JAMA.