Opening the market for lower cost hearing aids: Regulatory change can improve the health of older Americans

J. Blustein and B.E. Weinstein

American Journal of Public Health, 2016, vol. 106, issue 6, 1032-1035

Abstract: Hearing loss is a leading cause of disability among older people. Yet only one in seven US adults who could benefit from a hearing aid uses one. This fraction has not increased over the past 30 years, nor have hearing aid prices dropped, despite trends of steady improvements and price reductions in the consumer electronics industry. The President's Council on Science and Technology has proposed changes in the regulation of hearing aids, including the creation of a "basic" low-cost over-the-counter category of devices. We discuss the potential to reduce disability as well as to improve public health, stakeholder responses to the president's council's proposal, and public health efforts to further mitigate the burden of disability stemming from age-related hearingloss.

Keywords: aged; commercial phenomena; economics; government regulation; hearing aid; Hearing Loss; human; legislation and jurisprudence; public policy; United States, Aged; Commerce; Government Regulation; Hearing Aids; Hearing Loss; Humans; Public Policy; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303176_1

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303176

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