Walmart now sells over-the-counter hearing aids after FDA rule change

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CNN Business
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Walmart announced Monday that its first-time customers can buy hearing aids without a prescription and a medical exam.

The move comes shortly after the US Food and Drug Administration announced a long-awaited regulation change in August regarding hearing aids.

Instead of getting a prescription, seeing a hearing health professional, and getting custom fittings, people with mild to moderate hearing loss will now be able to purchase hearing aids directly in-store or online.

Over-the-counter hearing aids are available to Walmart shoppers in the United States who are 18 or older “with mild to moderate hearing loss without a medical examination or appropriate adjustment needed by an audiologist.”

Walmart (WMT) said hearing aids range in price from $199 to $999 per pair, including brands like Bose-backed Lexie ($849 to $999) and HearX ($199 to $299).

“Providing easy access to over-the-counter hearing aids, something that sounds so small, is a solution that can improve our customers’ health outcomes and their ability to live better and healthier,” said Dr. John Wigneswaran, Walmart’s chief medical officer. statement.

The retailer said shoppers can now purchase over-the-counter hearing devices on Walmart.com and at Walmart Vision centers in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

It plans to make it available soon to additional Walmart Vision centers nationwide. The company currently operates more than 3,000 vision centers across the country.

appreciate 1 in 8 people in the United States 12 years of age or older has hearing loss in both ears, and the rate increases significantly with age. About a quarter of people between the ages of 65 and 74 have a hearing loss, and this percentage rises to 50% by about age 75.

The Food and Drug Administration said changing its rules would make hearing aids more widely available and much cheaper across the country.

The agency estimates that the new rule could save the spouse about $2,800. Most private insurance companies do not cover hearing aids, and they are not cheap.

On average, people spend at least $4,000 out of their pocket on devices for both ears, according to a 2020 study published in JAMA.

CNN’s Karma Hassan and Jane Christensen contributed to this story.

Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin