# Tell me about OTC hearing aids **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-otc-hearing-aids/976542 "2022-12-15T00:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 3
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-otc-hearing-aids/976542/3 "2022-12-15T00:46:12Z")
We had this thread in September: > [@What Do Prescription-Free Hearing Aids Actually Mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prescription-free-hearing-aids-actually-mean/971805): > > [Americans will soon be able to get hearing aids without a prescription](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/17/over-the-counter-hearing-aids/). But doesn’t every patient need a hearing aid tailored to their own hearing loss (and ear shape)? Mrs. H has hearing difficulties and purchased these off-the-shelf hearing amplifiers, which sucked ass (didn’t help her hear any better in the low register, and everything else was so loud she could hear the electricity moving through the wires in our house). So in future she’ll be able to buy exactly what she needs based on her… The $89 hearing aid is just an amplifier. If he turns the TV volume all the up this would also be an amplifier–and if he still has trouble with the TV this high it would probably mean an amplifier isn’t going to be adequate. The more expensive hearing aids will change different frequencies different amounts. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-otc-hearing-aids/976542)._