Over-the-counter hearing aids go on sale in the US

Adults in the US with mild-to-moderate hearing loss can now buy hearing aids online or from a store without a prescription, medical exam or audiologist fitting. The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule in August that allows stores and online retailers to sell over-the-counter (OTC) devices starting today.

The move could save consumers thousands of dollars on a pair of hearing aids, according to the White House. Walmart is now selling them through its website, Sam’s Club, more than 1,000 in-store Vision Centers and 474 Sam’s Club Hearing Aid Center locations. Walmart’s options cost between $199 and $999 per pair. The company claimed comparable prescription hearing aids cost between $4,400 and $5,500.

Walgreens and CVS are also now selling OTC hearing aids. Best Buy and Hy-Vee will begin selling them online this week and in stores a little later.

Last week, Sony announced two hearing aid models that it created with WS Audiology. The CRE-C10 has a battery life of up to 70 hours on a single charge, according to Sony. That model will be available sometime this month. The CRE-E10, meanwhile, will cost $1,300. Sony claims it has a battery life of 26 hours, though you’ll be able to recharge it wirelessly. The CRE-E10 can also connect to an iPhone for audio playback.

Jabra revealed a set of hearing enhancement earbuds in August 2021. While they were initially available from hearing care clinics, but Jabra says they’re now on sale as OTC hearing aids. Early last year, Bose announced what it claimed were the first FDA-cleared hearing aids that don’t need a prescription or visit to a doctor.

Nearly 30 million Americans are believed to have some degree of hearing loss, including 10 million folks under the age of 60. Over-the-counter hearing aids could drastically improve many people’s quality of life, especially since the devices should be far less expensive. However, those who have severe hearing loss or anyone aged under 18 will still need a prescription for hearing aids, the FDA ruled.

Sony releases its first over-the-counter hearing aids

Earlier this summer, the US FDA greenlit the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, and now we’re seeing some from one of the largest audio companies in the world. Sony has announced the availability of its first OTC hearing aids, the $1,000 CRE-C10 and $1,300 CRE-E10, built in partnership with WS Audiology. 

The devices are built for daily use for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. They’re controlled via Sony’s “Hearing Control” app that guides users through setup and allows them to personalize settings like volume control. It also allows a “self-fit” that adjusts to appropriate pre-defined hearing profiles “based on thousands of actual, real-life audiogram results,” Sony said. 

Sony Electronics' CRE-C10 self-fitting OTC hearing aids
Sony Electronics, Inc.

The CRE-C10 model (above) offers a battery life of up to 70 hours of continuous use. Sony says they’re one of the smallest OTC hearing aids on the market, offering a discreet design that’s “virtually invisible when worn” and “exceptional sound quality.” It goes on sale this month for $1,000 at Amazon, Best Buy, and select hearing-care professionals.

Meanwhile, the CRE-E10 (at top) has a more earbud-like design, powered by a rechargeable battery with up to 26 hours of life between charges. It’s Bluetooth compatible as well, so users can connect to devices and listen to streaming audio or music, though only on iOS, Sony says. Those will go on sale for $1,300 sometime this winter at Sony’s website.

Last year, Bose and Lexie unveiled their own OTC hearing aids with the SoundControl lineup, and launched the first B1 model for $900 a couple of days ago. Companies like Jabra have also leaped in. And last year, Sennheiser sold its consumer audio business to the hearing aid specialist Sonova. While the prices are still not what you’d call cheap, they’re far less than prescription hearing aids that can run $1,000-$4,000 per ear, according to Consumer Reports. 

Amazon’s Halo Rise is a $140 bedside sleep tracker that works by sensing you breathe

Amazon wants to help you get better understanding of your sleep, but knows that many of us hate wearing something to bed just to track our rest. That’s why it made the Halo Rise — a bedside lamp and sleep tracker that works without a camera or microphone to track the person resting closest to it. It’ll also use machine learning to detect what sleep zones you’re in and will cost $140 when it’s available later this year.

It uses a “no-contact, low-energy sensor” to sense movement and respiratory patterns. Together with machine learning, Amazon can tell from the rising and falling or expanding and contracting of your body to determine your sleep stages throughout the night. Amazon says it “trained and validated the device’s sleep algorithm against the clinical gold standard for sleep analysis called… overnight polysomnography.”

If there’s another person or animal sharing your bed, Amazon said its algorithm can detect and exclude their activity and only include your data in your sleep summary, which you’ll see every day. The company will then offer you tips on how to sleep better, including suggestions on how to optimize your environment.

The Rise also has sensors to gauge the temperature, humidity and brightness of your room, and is also a lamp. It’ll glow in accordance with sunrise times so you can wake up to a gradually brightening grow instead of having your retinas scorched off when you open your curtains. You can also set a smart alarm that will monitor your sleep stages and wake you at an ideal time instead of disrupting you in the middle of deep sleep. 

The Rise will also work with Alexa and you can set a compatible Alexa device to start playing your favorite song as you’re waking up, based on the Rise’s insights. If you have personalized sleep routines, the Rise can also trigger them when you get in bed, turning off your lights and other devices for you. 

Those concerned about privacy can turn off the sleep-tracking sensor whenever they want, and Amazon said that all Halo health data is encrypted in transit and at rest in the cloud. You’ll also be able to download your health data, limit access to it or delete it altogether.

Though Amazon describes this as a “first of its kind bedside sleep tracker,” Google already introduced something similar last year with the second-generation Nest Hub. That device uses the company’s Soli radar sensor to monitor your breathing and is designed to be used by your bed, too. It doesn’t offer the alarm and lights that the Halo Rise does, but is based on the same principle. Google’s version didn’t work perfectly — it was tricky to set up and didn’t always know when I’d awoken. We’ll have to wait till we can test the Halo Rise for ourselves to see how well Amazon’s tracking works, but for now, it’s an intriguing device, especially for those of us keen on getting sleep insights without having to wear a gadget to bed.

Follow all of the news from Amazon’s event right here!

Japan pledges $2 billion in funding for pandemic vaccine research initiative

The Japanese government has earmarked $2 billion in funding for vaccine research in an effort to make sure its country is better prepared for any future pandemic, according to Nature. Japan lagged behind other countries not just in developing vaccines, but also in approving them when it came to COVID-19. As the publication points out, three of Japan’s most advanced COVID-19 vaccine candidates are still undergoing clinical trials. To prevent a repeat, the country established the Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced Vaccine Research and Development for Preparedness and Response (SCARDA) back in March. 

SCARDA’s central research center will be based in Tokyo, but it will be supported by four core institutes, namely Osaka University, Nagasaki University, Hokkaido University and Chiba University. The $2 billion funding is supposed to keep it running for five years. $1.2 billion will go towards the center’s vaccine research and development projects, while $400 million will be spent on supporting start-ups in drug development. The other $400 million will go towards setting up a network of research centers across the nation, as well as towards vaccine testing.

SCARDA will initially focus on developing vaccines for eight infectious diseases, including COVID-19, monkeypox, SARS, dengue and Zika virus. Its researchers will look into various types of vaccine technologies, as well, such as mRNA and viral vectors. The center aims “to find seeds for future vaccines,” but its ultimate goal is to be able to conjure up diagnostic tests, vaccines and treatments within 100 days of the identification of a pathogen that has the potential to become a pandemic. 

It was the UK government that first proposed the 100-day response goal, based on what it learned from COVID-19. “The first 100 days when faced with a pandemic or epidemic threat are crucial to changing its course and, ideally, preventing it from becoming a pandemic,” the UK wrote in its pandemic preparedness report to the G7. According to the World Health Organization, it recorded over 2.5 million cases and 200,000 deaths 100 days after it declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. A swift response from the start could’ve prevented those numbers from getting any higher. 

Study finds surgery patients wearing VR headsets needed less anesthetic

More evidence is mounting that virtual reality might relieve pain during surgery. MIT Newsreports that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers in Boston have published a study indicating that patients wearing VR headsets required less anesthetic during hand surgery. While the average conventional patient needed 750.6 milligrams per hour of the sedative propofol, people looking at relaxing VR content (such as meditation, nature scenes and videos) only required 125.3 milligrams. They also recovered earlier, leaving the post-anesthesia unit after 63 minutes on average versus 75 minutes.

The scientists claim VR distracted the patients from pain that would otherwise command their full attention. However, the researchers also admitted that the headset wearers may have gone into the operating room expecting VR to help, potentially skewing the results.

Beth Israel Deaconess’ team is planning trials that could rule out this placebo effect, though. One follow-up trial will also gauge the effect of VR on patients receiving hip and knee surgery. Past experiments, such as at St. Jospeph’s Hospital in France, have indicated that the technology can help assuage patients.

The allure for healthcare providers is clear. Patients might suffer less and return home sooner. Hospitals, meanwhile, could make the most of their anesthetic supplies, free recovery beds and reduce wait times. What a provider spends on VR headsets could pay for itself if it allows for more patients and higher-quality treatment.