Evaluating the Effectiveness of Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids in Ageing Populations With Hearing Loss

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hearing loss (HL) is common among older adults and associated with adverse health outcomes. Although hearing aids (HAs) are effective for mild to moderately severe HL, their use is limited by cost and stigma. To improve accessibility, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized over-the-counter (OTC) HAs. This study compared the performance of OTC HAs with that of prescription HAs in older adults with mild-to-moderate HL. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 30 older adults were evaluated using six HA models: one prescription HA (ReSound ONE) and five OTC HAs (Lexie B2, Vibe Air, Vibe Nano8, Jabra Enhance Plus, and Olive Smart Ear Plus). The effectiveness was assessed using sound field audiometry, word recognition scores (WRS), speech perception in noise (SPIN), and real-ear measurements (REMs). Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used for the analysis. RESULTS: Significant primary effects of the auditory test (p<0.001) and interactions between the HA type and test (p=0.010) were observed. Variations were noted in sound field audiometry across the models, whereas the WRS and SPIN outcomes did not differ significantly. The REMs indicated appropriate fitting for all devices. CONCLUSIONS: OTC HAs demonstrated a performance comparable to that of prescription HAs and may serve as a cost-effective option for older adults with mild-to-moderate HL.