The Boston Globe is backing Elisabeth Warren (MA-D) who has authored a bill that would allow hearing aids to be bought over-the-counter. Those backing the bill say that it would lower the cost and make it easier for those with moderate hearing loss to access assistance. The Globe insinuates that the hearing aid industry is behind the opposition and misrepresenting what the legislation would mean for hunters using listening devices in the field.
The Washington Examiner, on the other hand, has run an opinion piece by a surgeon who specializes in hearing and balance who opposes the legislation.
Which side deserves a hearing?
Pro Hearing Aid Bill Here
Con Hearing Aid Bill Here
Yeah, they can really scalp you on those hearing aids.
“Huh, what did you say, speak up, I cant hear a damn thing you’re saying. Speak English so I can understand you. Ah hell, forget it, I can’t understand you anyway.”
“Which side deserves a hearing?” Cute.
It sounds as if the hearing aid argument (anti-bill) may be a little stronger because of the amount of consumer electronics throw-away our society has – maybe I need a hear aid and I can get one for $ 250 and find out or I can go to a specialist and $1000 to know.
Politics is always involved in this crap when money is involved. Even a blind squirrel (fauxahontis) may be right sometime.
I’ve never heard of hunters who need sound amplifiers to hunt and I live in the hunting belt. It’s lobbyists that are plugging away – screw em.
Hearing aids are so expensive and not affordable for many since insurance often does not cover them. I say let the consumer decide if they want to go to a specialist or a drug store to buy them.
I side with Pocahontas on this one.
Now, talk about glasses….wholesale lenses cost like 30 cents each…frames cost 10 to 30 dollars for designer shit….the complete package will run ya $400 dollars plus, plus, plus. Lenses are made by a CNC machine fed by a $15 dollar an hour operator….The insurance industry is the demon in this and many endeavors…..
So she wants to do away with red tape and regulations. Wonderful, next she can look at anti 2nd Amendment rights. Anti gun laws, bullet buttons, hi capacity magazines, waiting periods, back ground checks and carry laws that prevent citizens from getting what they want.
Then she can take on tax laws. I mean if she is for no need to show an I.D. to vote we need to apply her logic to a lot of today’s issues. I’ll even help her with the words that are too big for her.
from Slate writer Aisha Harris
“I Hunt, fish, make food, sew clothes, sweep up, stay awake all night, listen for enemies for kemosabe”
Yes Elizabeth, lets make the world right.
Wife needed a wheelchair for a while. You can’t just go buy one. You need a prescription so you are properly screwed by the industry. Fortunately an ad showed up in the classifieds and we were able to bypass the system.
Zero to 60 in…. never mind.
Used hearing aid though? Um. No. Ick.
The con argument suggests that there is more to the Fauxcahontas bill than she says. Color me skeptical of anything coming from her. Also color me too lazy to further investigate.
why not over the counter? Its not like its a hazardous drug. They cant kill ya. Might even get the wife a couple. She doesnt listen to me at all.
The manufacturers, hearing “specialists”, Associations and Lobbyists have paid good money to keep this from happening.
Buying Congressmen and Senators isn’t cheap.
One good thing, when they’re bought most of them stay bought.
Pelosi, Reid, Boehner, Ryan, McConnell have the bank accounts to prove it.
Someone could write an app for a smart phone that uses the microphone and then just ‘thru-passes’ that input, amplified, to a pair of earbuds. Prior to passage of this bill, would that be illegal?
what?
The doctor makes the case that hearing aids are like glasses, they need to be properly fitted and the device should be set to a person’s particular hearing loss.
Now you can go into any Walmart or hardware store and buy a cheap pair of reading glasses, but you need to have your eyes checked and a proper lenses created for driving if you’re near sighted.
J in VT….I met a guy just the other day that had some cheap earphones plugged into his IPhone and had downloaded an APP to amplify the sound. I didnt inquire further but I’ll bet you could tune the freq. response of the APP to enhance the sound to compensate for your particular hearing loss. It looked like crap but he was happy.
If he’s in Mass, turn him in for the bounty.
Unless he’s sanctuaried in. Better consult lia-watha on that one.
Billie: I wish I had listened to what my uncle said.
Bob: what did he say?
Billie: I don’t know, I didn’t listen.
Classic vaudeville.
Anyone who wants a custom fitted hearing aid will still be able to do so. But there really isn’t any reason that you should have to patronize an expensive specialist and get an expensive one-of-a-kind-just-for-YOU! prescription hearing aid, when you can get pretty much the same results with a medical technician and a mass produced hearing aid.
If she’s such a crusader for hearing, maybe she should back the HPA.
I don’t want to hear this shit
Don’t listen to the Globe or allow Chief Liawatha to let this become law. I had a grandmother ( in MA. ) who let her older daughter get her a brand name hearing aid. The Damn thing did not work and I had to put up with my grandmother telling me to repeat myself all the time. That gets tiring after five minutes of a conversation.
You don’t need a prescription for ear plugs, it’s
just nothing but lawyers wanting to make money.
Warren tackles the tough ones. The Nobel commission is taking notice.
Some one told Fauxchohauntus the OTC devices are radio receivers tuned to the DNC channel?