The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription

Re:The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without... by jjeaff on Tuesday October 19, 2021 @03:25PM (#28922476)

I have been to maybe a half dozen different optometrists over the last 25 years and they have always used several expensive looking machines to screen for eye disease. Most frequently a machine that uses a puff of air to measure the pressure in your eye and more recently, a machine with a bright light that gets detailed imagery of the vascular structure on the back of your eye.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without... by JCM9 on Tuesday October 19, 2021 @03:34PM (#28922580)

Yes, although that test is automated and typically done by a technician not an optometrist. You can train someone to use one of these machines in a few hours. If this was a key test no reason we couldn’t just put one in every GP office and have eye pressure checked during an annual checkup.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without... by RHSeeger on Tuesday October 19, 2021 @04:45PM (#28923521)

Those machines cost money and require some amount of training to use. Having them in an office that specializes in using them makes sense. Having your GP have every type of machine for every types of checkup (eyes, ears, CAT, MRI, etc... all things that _could_ be at the GP, but aren't) would not be cost efficient.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without... by InvertedRhodium on Tuesday October 19, 2021 @03:52PM (#28922854)

> annual checkup

We're supposed to go EVERY YEAR?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The FDA wants you to be able to buy a hearing aid without... by throwawayboise on Tuesday October 19, 2021 @04:19PM (#28923235)

LOL I know. I haven't been for a "checkup" in close to 30 years.

[ Parent | on HN ]