First Experiences with Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids for Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Case Report

Abstract

This patient case report describes a first experience in late 2022 and early 2023 with over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids for a 71-year-old male with self-perceived, age-related hearing loss. The patient reported no “red flag” medical conditions that would preclude him from safely using an OTC hearing aid device. After also meeting inclusionary criteria required to be printed on the device label, the patient was offered FDA registered OTC hearing aids. The first device pair was returned due to malfunction. The second device pair was an in-the-canal style, black in color, and powered by disposable batteries. He required help setting up the device from his spouse, an audiologist, and a pharmacist. Improved scores on the Self-Assessment of Communication and Significant Other Assessment of Communication were noted from the patient and his spouse. The patient continued to use the second device pair for 6 months after first use with no additional help. Our experience supports the pharmacist’s role in identifying appropriate candidates for OTC hearing aids, helping patients select a device, and supporting device setup and self-fitting processes at community pharmacies. Further experiences are needed to demonstrate how pharmacists can support OTC hearing aid purchases at community pharmacies.

An Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Clinical Trial in Rural Alabama: Project Design and Potential Implications for Pharmacy and Audiology Interprofessional Collaborations

“…Midey and colleagues revealed that 94% of 85 pharmacists who responded to an online survey expressed interest in increasing their knowledge of OTC HAs, 72% expressed interest in selling OTC HAs in their pharmacies, and 73% expressed interest in assisting patients with the selection of OTC HAs [ 12 ]. Evidence also has suggested that pharmacists were capable of successfully providing OTC HAs to their patients [ 15 ]. In this study, a pharmacist, working in collaboration with an audiologist, confirmed the degree of hearing loss, ensured that contraindications for HA use were not present, assessed the patient’s perceived difficulty with their hearing loss, and helped with the setting of the initial HAs as well as a second set of aids after a malfunction of the first set.…”

“…In fact, Berenbrok, Mormer, and colleagues have reported on collaborations in their recent work [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. These researchers, representing pharmacy and audiology professions, have developed 26 competency statements for pharmacists when providing hearing healthcare in pharmacies [ 14 ], developed online training sessions designed to help pharmacists become familiar with supporting adults with hearing loss [ 13 ], and reported findings from a patient who received support from a pharmacist in the provision of OTC HAs [ 15 ]. Evidence has also indicated that pharmacists are very interested in working with audiologists to support adults with hearing loss [ 11 , 12 , 16 ].…”

“…These issues could be barriers to optimal benefit from OTC HAs [ 21 ]. Potentially, as suggested by Berenbrok and others, health care professionals, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, could be trained to provide basic hearing healthcare in these underserved communities to help mitigate the effects of hearing loss and improve access to hearing healthcare [ 11 , 14 , 15 , 21 ].…”