Hearing Aids are getting a makeover

If you feel you have some hearing problems, you should soon take a hearing test. The sooner you take the better. If you perhaps fail the test, you will be given a hearing aid. What comes to your mind when you think of the device? An elder person? A beige plastic device? Yes, these aids are considered to be obsolete. But the technology has revived it for the present. The obsolete device is ready for a great makeover.

I’m sure whoever has an aid will have the device that was first designed in the 1950’s. The device never had a makeover and has been the same since its introduction. Hence, it’s been discarded by many. It will be the oldest technology in your houses. Everything else has changed except that.

But the devices can be extremely costly too. But its seen that no insurance agencies have ever paid for a pair of aids. This is because a pair costs as much as $4,700. Such a costly device is a huge investment. In fact, going by the numbers, it’s the third costliest product that people buy after their house and their car. It’s not just the design that hasn’t been changed. Even the channel for buying a pair hasn’t changed ever since its introduction. In a world with multiple E-commerce platforms, the aids can only be bought from an audiologist or a doctor. You can’t even buy it directly from the shops.

It is also to be noted that there are only six companies to produce such devices in the world. And they sell the devices only to the doctors from where you can buy them. A lot of shops sell the ‘personal amplification systems’, but they aren’t really the aids.

Because it’s sold in this particular way, the cost hasn’t dropped down unlike other electronic devices. The cost is inclusive of the fee for the medical professional. Hence, the cost is always higher and isn’t affordable by a lot. This is proved by a report that says only 20 percent of adults suffering from hearing related issues are the ones who are able to afford this device. The statistic has been the same ever since its introduction.

The other 80 percent who cannot afford a machine is in danger of developing serious outcomes including impaired thinking, dementia, and could also be hospitalized for a long time. But under the Presidentship of Barack Obama, the rules have changed. The science and technology department has called for a creation of FDA approved hearing devices that could be sold over the counter.

The law will reduce the cost by a great margin and open the device for innovation. With the new law, tech giants can come up with their own version of hearing devices that could be sold over the counter.

There could be innovative hearing devices that could help you with the directions to a place, read your messages, play your music from your phones etc. It’ll be smart like the other devices and won’t be redundant like the design introduced in the 1950’s.

Image credit: RobinHiggins.

Hello, My nam is Leo, and I like to share some interesting and helpfull articles.