When Is the Right Time for a Hearing Aid?

• Position: AUDIOLOGY

All of us at some point in our lives will start to lose our hearing. "As I tell my patients literally on a daily basis, it's just part of life," says Lawrence R. Lustig, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

What differs among people is the rate of hearing loss, "and that's largely determined by your genes," Lustig notes. "Chances are you're going to have the same hearing loss as your parents, although that can be influenced by noise exposure."

The good news is that hearing aids are getting better, and Americans soon will be able to buy them in stores or online without a prescription, once a new rule proposed by the FDA takes effect.

Just as drugstore glasses help people's vision, over-the-counter options will help get hearing aids into more ears, Lustig indicates. "I go to the drugstore and get my 1.5x reading glasses, and that's all I need. Over-the-counter personal sound amplification devices are still in their infancy, but they're going to get better and better over time.

"If nothing else is going on other than normal age-related hearing loss, go ahead and...