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My colleagues and I write a lot about the failures of government and the horrors of technology. But this week we have good news.

On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration began the process to create a new drug category after a long wait. State-approved hearing aids that Americans can buy without a prescription. Congress allowed over-the-counter hearing aids in 2017.

These over-the-counter hearing aids have the potential to prove that the best efforts of government and tech companies can improve the lives of Americans.

You can buy reading glasses from Walgreens without a prescription. Maybe this time next year, you’ll be able to do the same with an officially labeled hearing aid for a few hundred dollars.

The medical professionals, patient advocates, and technology executives I spoke with are excited about the potential of over-the-counter hearing aids. They imagine the government’s blessing will ignite new inventions from companies like Bose, Best Buy, and Apple. And they believe this could be the start of a golden age for hearing aid.

“I’m crying reading this” Nicholas ReedThe director of audiology at the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health said he wrote to his contacts Tuesday after hearing the news.

When I wrote Regarding this issue in April, I was surprised at the harmful and pervasive effects of hearing loss. Roughly 38 million American adults report some degree of hearing lossand very few people who can benefit from hearing aids use them.

Prescription hearing aids work well for many Americans if they have access to medical care and can afford to pay an average of $5,000. (hearing aids typically not covered by traditional Medicare. Private health insurance plans and Medicaid coverage are spotty.) Some people are also embarrassed about losing their hearing or are put off by testing and fitting for hearing aids.

Untreated hearing loss can be serious. Struggling to understand what we hear stresses the brain and is associated with cognitive decline. dementia and social isolation.

Dr. Research by Reed and other academics found that some over-the-counter hearing aids on the market sell for $350 or less. cannot legally be called a hearing aid right now – almost as good as prescription hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. But hearing aids in this category can be excellent or rubbish, and it has been difficult to tell the difference.

The best listening devices may be approved as official over-the-counter hearing aids under new FDA rules. Experts say more companies are waiting in the wings to offer new hearing products.

Bose announced in May Hearing aid for $850, and the company told me it wanted to sell the product as an over-the-counter hearing aid once the FDA finalized its rules. The Wall Street Journal recently reported Apple is exploring ways to turn its AirPods, which are wireless earphones, into a hearing-enhancing device.

More gadgets doesn’t necessarily mean more people will be helped by them. But the new market opportunity created by the government could open the door to ideas we haven’t even imagined yet, wholesale changes in the public’s awareness of hearing loss, and options to treat it.

Dr. Reed told me that he envisioned that more stylish-looking and easier-to-use hearing aids could help erode the stigma of hearing loss, and that new device manufacturers would offer more consumer education about this issue.

He and other experts envision more ways to aid hearing in addition to devices. Maybe it will be the equivalent of Best Buy’s Geek Squad to help people put on hearing aids purchased without a prescription. If more people seek hearing aid, this could also mean more opportunities for healthcare professionals who can offer hearing tests and treatments separate from devices.

People with more severe hearing loss may not be helped by an over-the-counter hearing aid. And even at well below the cost of traditional hearing aids, many people still can’t afford them. some sketches Domestic policy plan discussed around Congress Recommend expanding Medicare coverage to include hearing aids.

Healthcare in the United States costs more and produces worse health outcomes than in many wealthier countries. But at least in this corner of healthcare, people may soon be getting more innovation and lower costs. Not bad.

Before you go …

• Facebook will change its name. OK. Boundary reports He said Facebook plans to announce a new name next week to include its interest in the company.metadata store” is a term for a broad vision that virtual human interactions will be as complex as the real thing.

• From Hollywood tabloids to conspiracy theories: BuzzFeed News watched Crazy Days and Nights evolve from a celebrity gossip blog to a center for QAnon conspiracy theories. “Gossip fans and QAnoners share a fundamental belief: behind closed doors, celebrities do unspeakable things,” BuzzFeed said. Writer.

• Talk to the world via your phone: My colleague JD Biersdorfer has advice on how to do it. use your smartphone to chat in a language For unfamiliar or to quickly translate a message or street sign.

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I love Gritty, the wacky mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. Here Brave playing with a VERY EXCITED canine friend.

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