I hear from Iowans all the time about the high cost of
hearing aids.
The $5,000 or $6,000, or even $10,000 costs are often
shocking for seniors on a fixed income.
Thirty-eight million
American adults have hearing loss.
Hearing loss makes it harder to work and socialize and
easier to become isolated.
In 2016, I began a bipartisan effort with Senator Warren to allow consumers to purchase
over-the-counter hearing aids.
If you can buy non-prescription reading glasses over-the-counter, it makes
sense that you should be able to buy basic, safe hearing aids, too.
When Senator Warren
and I began our effortour goal was simple: by making more
products more easily available to consumers, competition will increase and lead
to lower costs.
Despite special interests, we passed in 2017 the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act.
Last week, the FDA released proposed regulations for
over-the-counter hearing aids.
This is welcome news.
But it took the
FDA bureaucracy more than three years to draft regulations.
Senator Warren and I pressed both Republican and Democrat
administrations to take action.
I am glad the FDA finally did its job.
Now the same Iowans who told me about the high cost of
hearing aids can comment on the draft regulations.
You have until January 18, 2022, to make a comment
on the draft regulations.
As long as the FDA bureaucracy acts
– and I hope
they are listening –I expect Iowans can purchase
over-the-counter hearing aids sometime in 2022.