This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Hannah Burrick about over-the-counter and traditional hearing aids. Dr. Burrick is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Audiology and an audiologist who specializes in adult and geriatric hearing loss at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. In 2022, over-the-counter hearing aids were approved in the US by the FDA and became available in retail stores and online. Doctor Hannah Burrick is here to talk about over-the-counter hearing aids and traditional hearing aids, available from an audiologist. Doctor Burrick is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Audiology, and she's an audiologist who specializes in adult and geriatric hearing loss at MUSC. Doctor Burrick, first, when is a hearing test recommended, and is this the first step to determine if someone really might need a hearing aid?
Dr. Burrick: A hearing test is recommended as soon as you or your family members are noticing a change in your hearing or with any onset of an ear related symptom, such as ringing in the ears. If you don't feel like the hearing problem is affecting your quality of life, then the hearing test will be a good baseline for comparison later on. If you do feel like the hearing problem is affecting you, then the hearing test will determine if you are a candidate for hearing aids.
Conner: One approach for hearing aids is going to your local audiologist and getting customized hearing aids. Tell us about this approach.
Dr. Burrick: Audiologists will work with the patient to determine the appropriate devices based on the specific hearing loss, the patient's specific communication needs, and budget. The benefits of this are that the hearing aids are really going to be customized for you, and the professional can verify that the hearing aids are doing what they're supposed to be doing.
Conner: The other option is the over-the-counter hearing aids available in the US without a prescription. And these are relatively inexpensive. Tell us more details about these hearing aids, and when someone might benefit from going with this approach.
Dr. Burrick: Most insurance companies, including Medicare, do not cover traditional hearing aids. So, the over-the-counter hearing aids make hearing aid usage a lot wider and a lot more accessible. So, I would recommend over-the-counter hearing aids for someone who maybe is just starting to notice their hearing loss, but doesn't feel that the loss is affecting their quality of life enough to justify pursuing traditional hearing aids. You do have a trial period with over-the-counter or traditional hearing aids. So, if you were to get over-the-counter and find that they're not doing enough, you can always return them and see an audiologist later or vice versa.
Conner: And no matter which type of hearing aids someone gets, what's really involved in getting used to hearing aids?
Dr. Burrick: Most individuals who pursue hearing aids oftentimes have had hearing loss for many years. So, it does take the brain a few weeks to adapt to hearing in general and having access to sounds, because the individual could have been missing out on those sounds for years. So after about 2 to 4 weeks of using devices consistently, then the patient can be sure that they adapted. And you can either see your audiologist who can fine tune the devices more specifically, or if you adapt to the over-the-counter, you can use different methods, such as your cell phone or communicating through a website to try and get those fine tuned as well.
Conner: Doctor Berwick, thanks for this information about hearing aids.
Dr. Burrick: You're welcome.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
