FAQ.

You can buy OTC hearing aids as soon as mid-October 2022 directly in stores and online, where prescription hearing aids are not available. Some OTC hearing aids might look just like prescription hearing aids. However, OTC hearing aids are for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. They are not meant for children or for adults who have more severe hearing loss or significant difficulty hearing. If you have more severe hearing loss, OTC hearing aids probably won't be able to amplify sounds at high enough levels to help you.

A large percentage of the population of people with hearing loss don't even choose to pursue hearing aids until their hearing loss is worse than the mild to moderate level. This may be due to the cost of prescription hearing aids or it may simply be due to the person's readiness to accept that they NEED hearing aids. By this time, they will require prescription hearing aids.