The FDA Approves Apple Airpods to be Used As Hearing Aids (12:08)
Only 1 in 6 Americans with Hearing impairments use hearing aids due to high cost, lack of accessibility, poor customer satisfaction and stigma
Broadcast Retirement Network’s Jeffrey Snyder discusses Over-the-Counter hearing aids with Towson University’s Julie Norin, AuD.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
This morning on BRN, the FDA approves some Apple AirPods as hearing aids. Joining me now is Julie Norrin of Towson University. Julie, so great to see you again.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Hi, Jeff. I’m always happy to talk with you.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, and we should tell the audience that you were a practitioner for many, many, many years. Now you’re taking all of that expertise and you’re training the future hearing professionals.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
That is correct. I’m still a practitioner. I’m still a licensed audiologist, but now I am also full-time faculty with the Doctor of Audiology program at Towson University, where I get to dive in a lot deeper into teaching our future professionals.
So I’m really, really enjoying this.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
A lot of practical experience and rewarding. It’s like mentorship and people need that. Okay, Julie, I wanted to come back to you because I’m going to hold up the AirPods.
There’s been a recent announcement by the FDA that, well, first of all, Apple is enhancing these AirPods software to allow them to act as hearing aids. And when we last spoke with you, we talked about over-the-counter hearing aids. I want to start off with your reaction to this announcement and Apple’s announcement.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Yeah. Look, I’m so glad, Jeff, that you touched on the fact that it’s a software enhancement, because I’ll get into that in a little bit. A lot of people think, oh, there are these great new AirPods themselves that are coming out that are going to act as hearing aids.
So we’ll touch on that in a bit. My initial reaction is always sort of like, ooh, this will be interesting. I think anything that can generate a deeper conversation about hearing loss and about the need for treatment and improving access to treatment through technology is great.
So I’m okay with it. I don’t think that it’s going to necessarily replace your prescription hearing aids. I think there are a lot of differences that I hope we have time to talk about today.
But I think that it’s great. I think that it’s great to have that conversation out there and that more people are talking about it and that it builds that awareness or increases that awareness and drives people to want to treat their hearing loss.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. And I like that you mentioned destigmatization. I can’t speak this morning, but there are people out there that if they can’t hear something or a certain range, because we all lose our hearing over time, they may not want to speak up, Julie.
And that concerns me because there’s a period of isolation you can have. You’re actually isolating yourself if you can’t hear and listen to the conversations of others. You can’t communicate.
That’s how we communicate.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Exactly. And we see that. We see that that lack of treatment and the impact of hearing loss can lead to a lot of other psychological aspects such as depression and isolation and withdrawal.
And in addition to just general deprivation of sound, which Johns Hopkins has put out a lot of research that has shown a correlation between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline. So there are a lot of negative things that can come with having a hearing loss that goes untreated.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. And so last time you were on, you talked about OTC, over-the-counter hearing aids, and there are some real, by the way, I would categorize these in the software in that same category. They may be different, but from a practical point of view, I think there’s two categories.
How does an over-the-counter hearing aid, such as what I’m classifying this as, differ from those prescription hearing aids? Are they as good? They must serve a purpose if they’re being sold.
And the FDA approved it.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Yeah. Yeah, they do. That can be a whole conversation in itself.
But yeah, there are some differences in terms of what constitutes an over-the-counter device versus a prescription device. Obviously the first major difference is that an over-the-counter device is designed for the do-it-yourselfers, right? It’s a DIY situation.
You walk in, you get something off, you figure out what it is you need, get it off the shelf, program it yourself, and learn how to use it yourself. And there’s no professional support. Now, if hearing loss can be solved with just a device, we wouldn’t be here, right?
I wouldn’t have a place, a profession. I wouldn’t have a list of thousands of patients that I’ve worked with over the years, and I would not have very much value. A device is only one part of the puzzle.
And a lot of these over-the-counter devices, while they are increasing access, there is a little bit of a cost savings, but it’s not much. Studies show that just some of the over-the-counter devices that are maybe a little on par with prescription devices can sell for almost $3,000 a pair. Now, that’s a pair of hearing aids that comes without any support, without any teaching, without any education, and with a do-it-yourself hearing test versus a $3,000 a pair of hearing aids, prescription hearing aids, comes with professional support, a comprehensive medical evaluation, essentially.
The risks of going the OTC route versus working with a professional and using prescription hearing aids is that there’s a lot that can be missed. You might have just a blockage of earwax in your ears and not have a hearing loss at all. So there are a lot of questions in terms of whether or not that’s the appropriate route that someone can take, provided that someone has sought consult with a professional first, and then that professional has said, hey, yeah, you’re a good candidate for OTC, then I think it’s great.
But I always would recommend consult with a professional first to determine what it is you actually have going on to determine if OTC is appropriate for you.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
And let’s talk about that. I mean, we have talked on the program about the importance of seeing a hearing professional, I guess an otolaryngologist is what they’re maybe called in the medical world. But a lot of the testing can be covered by Medicare and or your health insurance, whether you buy it, get it from an employer, or whether you buy it from an exchange.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Right. So yeah, there are a lot of hearing professionals out there. I’ll give you the nuts and bolts of the differences between the bunch of us.
You’ve got otolaryngologists who are medical professionals, those are your nose and throat physicians, they’re the ones who are treating your medical pathologies, either with medicine or surgery or cochlear implants, what have you. Then you have audiologists. So like myself, I’m a doctor of audiology.
I’m a clinical doctor. So like a PhD, but it’s an AUD. I’ve got extensive training in terms of not just hearing technology, but also hearing health.
So different aspects of the hearing system, where hearing loss can develop, why it develops, when it’s important to seek medical treatment and so forth. And then you’ve got hearing aid dispensers who have minimal training. They are essentially retailers that have been trained to test, do very, very basic testing in order to program then a hearing aid to provide amplification.
So it is important that your viewers understand the differences across the profession so that they know who they’re being treated by.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, I completely agree. Julie, I want to bring it back because we’re limited on time. But my last question to you is, so we had this FDA ruling, who monitors that this ruling has been successful?
So there’s a net result that’s going to happen by allowing over-the-counter hearing aids. Who monitors whether or not that’s successful or not successful when it comes to gradual hearing loss, hearing loss? Is there a body that kind of, I kind of liken it to, it’s not the same thing, but legalization of marijuana or sports gambling, which we have here in North Carolina.
There are results that happen to that. So is there a regulatory body that’s going to say, hey, this is a good thing or bad thing. We need to tweak, tweak it, et cetera.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
There isn’t. So it’s great that you’re asking that. There are a lot, a lot of my colleagues out there across the world who are monitoring the situation.
So they are using the testing that we have the capability of doing in terms of testing the various over-the-counter devices and seeing if they are in fact on par with prescription devices. And we’ve, we have yet to really see comprehensive results because this FDA ruling for just simply OTC devices is not all that old. It’s fairly new as of 2022.
So the research is pending. There are some OTC devices out there that are on par with prescription devices. I will say with the Apple AirPods, and I’ll touch on that because I know that your viewers want to hear about those.
It’s a technology update. So the AirPods themselves look the same. It’s a firmware update for your AirPods, only the AirPod 2s.
It’s the iOS update that will be released sometime in October. It will be an update for the phone. And then also with that comes a firmware update for AirPods.
Both have to be updated and then users can use the hearing aid feature on the phone, on an iPhone to test their hearing. Now, is it really a test? Not really.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
It’s more Not the same as going to you.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Like a measurement. Yeah.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. It’s not going to Julie. Right.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
And then that measurement will be input into the AirPods to provide what the iPhone test has determined this person needs to hear. Very different from a prescription hearing aid, which again, if the device was the only piece of the puzzle, it’d be great. But there’s a lot of other things that are involved specifically with the testing.
I don’t just measure what sounds someone can hear. I’m also looking at their ear health and giving a comprehensive assessment and then identifying, is this person a candidate for hearing aids or do they have some medical condition that would contraindicate their use of a hearing aid? And maybe they need medical treatment first.
Person’s not going to get that with a measurement of hearing on their iPhone.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. Julie, we’re going to have to leave it there, but I’ll end it by saying I’m really interested in seeing the net result of the regulations. And I think we’re going to have to come back to you to talk about that.
Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for your insight. And we look forward to having you back on the program again, very soon.
Julie Norin, AuD., Towson University
Thanks. It’s always my pleasure.
Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
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