Potential Roles of Audiologists Supporting Patients' OTC Hearing Aid Journey.

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are designed to be accessible as a self-guided experience, not requiring professional support. However, some individuals may pursue OTC hearing aids and also desire (limited) professional support. The purpose of this article was to explore the potential role of audiologists in patients' self-guided journeys with OTC hearing aids by examining four related questions. (1) Why might audiologists want to know about OTCs? (2) What types of patient support for OTC hearing aids might be beneficial for patients? (3) What additional knowledge and skills, outside of those already obtained for current prescription service delivery models, are necessary or useful? (4) What is the evidence base around service delivery as it extends to OTC hearing aids? Several potential professional support approaches are considered. While speculative due to the constraints of the limited current evidence base, potentially important factors, including the impact on patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness, were included when possible. The introduction of OTC hearing aids has changed the hearing aid marketplace; however, the demand for both OTC and prescription hearing aids is only increasing. With these changes, interested audiologists have new and unique opportunities to support more patients by participating in the OTC hearing aid marketplace through the acquisition of new OTC-specific knowledge and through partnerships with other professionals and OTC providers.