Pete Couste said it was his wife who first noticed that he was turning up the TV louder than she liked.
“I couldn’t hear the words in movies as much anymore,” admitted Couste, who lives just outside Washington, DC.
Watching TV isn’t Couste’s only problem. In his church choir, he can’t always hear his part and get the pitch right. It’s also affected his work at the Fire Safety Research Institute, a nonprofit that generates safety research. The 61-year-old said he feels less effective judging audio quality when his team makes their life-saving videos for firefighters.
“It is affecting all parts of my life,” he said.
That was seven years ago.
Help for millions
In July, President Joe Biden signed an executive order meant to promote competition; it encouraged the US Food and Drug Administration allow over-the-counter, prescription-free hearing aids, and the FDA announced the long-awaited rule change in August. The move ushers in options that should be cheaper and possibly even better.
Now, instead of getting a prescription and having a custom fitting with a hearing health professional, adults can buy hearing aids directly from a store or online. Some doctors estimate that 90% of the population with hearing loss could benefit from these over-the-counter devices.