Inexpensive Hearing Aids a Low Cost Option for Adults

Inexpensive Hearing Aids a Low Cost Option for Adults

Inexpensive Hearing Aids, a Low-Cost Option for Adults Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Study Cheaper Devices May Work as Well as Hearing Aids

Consumers can buy the over-the-counter devices without getting an exam

Approximately 30 million people experience age-related hearing loss. Halfdark/Getty Images would be able to purchase the devices without a prescription or medical exam. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. For the study, researchers compared how well 42 older adults with mild to moderate hearing loss repeated sentences spoken in the presence of background noise. The researchers tested their ability to understand the speaker without any devices. Then they tested the subjects with a hearing aid and with five “personal sound amplification products” sold over the counter. The used in the study was a brand commonly dispensed in audiology clinics. The personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) used had the best electroacoustic properties or were available in retail pharmacies. While PSAPs perform like hearing aids, they can’t be marketed as hearing aids because they don’t meet FDA standards. The results, published this month in JAMA, found little difference between the hearing aid — which costs about $1,900 per ear — and some of the PSAPs, which cost between $300 and $350 a pair. Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids, nor do most private health insurance plans. is a common problem, but only about a quarter of the roughly 30 million people who have it use hearing aids, said Nicholas Reed, an audiology instructor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the study's lead author. Read the full story . AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS
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