ReviewSeminars in hearing2025
Are Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Affordable, Accessible, and Satisfactory? Insights from MarkeTrak 25 Survey Data.
Review in Seminars in hearing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Extremely High Fitting Range and Dangerous Levels Permitted by the Current FDA Guidelines for OTC Hearing Aids and the Need to Consider RECDs.Audiology research · 2026Article
- Exploring the Effects of Attribute Framing and Popularity Cueing on Hearing Aid Purchase Likelihood.Audiology research · 2026Article
- Over-the-counter hearing aids and integrated health-monitoring sensors: a review of clinical evidence and implementation.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to review the current state of the over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid market, specifically focusing on adoption, affordability, accessibility, and satisfaction rates in the MarkeTrak 2025 survey. In a large-scale consumer survey, nearly 5,000 adults with perceived hearing difficulties completed a survey, which asked questions about, among other things, their hearing aids. The results of the survey suggest OTC hearing aids have had a small incremental increase (4 percentage points) in hearing device adoptions, a smaller impact than earbuds with features designed to support hearing loss. The introduction of OTC hearing aids has not affected the adoption rates of prescription hearing aids, where adoption rates (currently 39%) have been stable, or even increased, over the last decade. The data also demonstrate that most OTC hearing aid owners received some professional services, suggesting the accessibility of OTC hearing aids might not be fully successful if success means the ability to acquire hearing aids without professional support. However, OTC hearing aids have been successful in other respects. Relative to prescription hearing aids, OTC hearing aids are more affordable and have similarly high satisfaction rates. The OTC and earbud devices will be interesting to continue to monitor as the market adjusts to the widespread availability of direct-to-consumer solutions for management of hearing difficulties in adults. To date, the availability of OTC hearing aids has not disrupted the prescription hearing aid market, although they are more affordable, and most people who use them are satisfied.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.