Researchers are looking at ways to make hearing tests and hearing aids easier to get and less expensive, says Gordon Hughes, the institute’s program director for clinical trials. “Suppose you were able to offer a less-expensive hearing aid” at a retail outlet, like Walmart, he says. Already, they’re available online, and laptop or telephone hearing [...]

“Hearing aids and personal sound amplification products (PSAPS) can both improve our ability to hear sound,” says Eric Mann, M.D., Ph.D, deputy director of FDA’s Division of Ophthalmic, Neurological, And Ear, Nose, and Throat Devices. “They are both wearable, and some of their technology and function is similar.”