Hearing Healthcare Professionals’ Views about Over-The-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids: Analysis of Retrospective Survey Data

Abstract

Over-the-counter hearing aids have been available to consumers in the US since 17 October 2022 following a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration. However, their reception by hearing healthcare professionals (HHP) has been mixed, and concerns have been expressed by many HHPs. The aim of this study was to examine the concerns that HHPs have towards over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. The study used a retrospective survey design. The survey data of HHPs (n = 730) was obtained from Hearing Tracker. A 22-item structured questionnaire was administered using a Question Scout platform. Descriptive analyses examined reported areas of concern and a Fisher’s exact test examined the relationship between demographics and responses. A cluster analysis with partitioning around medoids (PAM) was used to identify a sub-group of participants based on responses. Nearly half of HHPs who participated reported that they will support patients with OTC hearing aids purchased elsewhere, whereas a quarter reported that they will sell OTC hearing aids in their clinic or website. HHPs expressed over 70% agreement in ‘concern’ statements in 14 of the 17 items. Issues about safety, counseling, and audiological care were the key concerns expressed by HHPs about OTC hearing aids. Some demographics (i.e., profession, primary position) were associated with responses to some statements. Two groups were identified based on the responses to concern statements. The HHPs in the first cluster ‘OTC averse’ (51%) agreed on all the 17 concern statements, whereas the second cluster ‘OTC apprehensive’ (49%) had some items rated as disagree (i.e., consumers will give up on amplification) and neither agree nor disagree (i.e., do not provide good value, warranties and return periods will be worse), and remaining items were rated as agree. OTC hearing aids were initiated to improve affordability, accessibility, and hearing aid uptake and are currently a rapidly emerging category of hearing devices. Overall, the results of the current study indicate that HHPs have serious concerns about OTC hearing aids. HHP concerns cited in this study provide useful feedback to stakeholders (e.g., HHP professional agencies, FDA, industry, and insurance payers) involved in improving OTC hearing aid implementation.

A novel consumer-centric metric for evaluating hearing device audio performance

“…Again, this would be expected due to the fewer adjustment controls OTC-SF vs. Rx HA. This limitation could be clinically significant as it restricts hearing healthcare professionals, who are eager to assist OTC device users, from optimizing device settings to individual needs (Manchaiah et al, 2023b). Given that some consumers looking for hearing healthcare are also keen to seek support from hearing healthcare professionals (Singh and Dhar, 2023) it would be useful for OTC hearing aid manufacturers to consider enabling such adjustments through professional fitting software.…”

Long-Term Outcomes of Self-Fit vs Audiologist-Fit Hearing Aids

“…Health care professionals have expressed considerable concerns about the effectiveness of OTC devices. A recent study, which surveyed 730 hearing health care professionals in the US on their view of OTC hearing aids, found that 78.3% believed these devices would not provide the same benefit as professionally fit prescription hearing aids, which are thought to offer more precise adjustments for enhancing sound quality, speech understanding in various environments, and ongoing professional support to help people adapt to these devices. However, the results of our original trial and this extension study support similar benefit for a self-fit OTC hearing aid to an audiologist-fit device according to clinical best practice.…”

“…6 Given the novelty of self-fitting OTC hearing aids, significant industry concerns remain regarding their sustainability and long-term efficacy, particularly in the absence of ongoing, hands-on support from hearing health care professionals. 7 Long-term follow-up is necessary to evaluate if users of selffit hearing aids continue to experience satisfactory benefit and satisfaction over time. It also helps assess how the lack of professional guidance affects their long-term success and overall satisfaction.…”