One of the advantages of the traditional model of buying hearing aids through an audiologist is that you have an expert helping you. That level of support can make a big difference in how satisfied people feel with their hearing aid.
In a 2017 randomized controlled trial, people who got hearing aids through a traditional audiology route and through an OTC route ultimately had similar levels of benefit from the devices, but the audiology group expressed more satisfaction with their hearing aids.
The study’s author, Larry Humes, PhD, a distinguished professor emeritus of speech, language, and hearing sciences at Indiana University, says the worst-case scenario in his mind would be if people who could benefit from an OTC hearing aid ended up not using them, “not because the device isn’t good—it meets FDA guidelines, it’s a good-quality device—but all the extra support somebody needs in adjusting to hearing aids that normally could be provided through an audiologist isn’t available.”
That’s why it’s important to find out exactly what level of support you’ll have access to for the hearing aids you’re considering, including when that support will be available and which experts are providing it.
