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OTC Hearing Aids
What OTC Hearing Aids Can and Cannot Do
Since 2022, adults have been able to buy over-the-counter hearing aids in Pittsburg, KS stores and online without a prescription or a hearing test. The FDA designed them for adults 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, and most are set up through a smartphone app. What they can't do is tell you how much hearing loss you actually have, or whether something medical is causing it.
Dr. Jordan Press, Au.D.
Owner & Audiologist
When a Prescription Hearing Aid Is the Better Choice
Prescription hearing aids from Dr. Jordan Press, Au.D. start with a diagnostic hearing evaluation, so the programming is based on your measured hearing rather than an app's estimate. They cover mild to profound hearing loss, come in custom and rechargeable styles from Phonak, Oticon, and Widex, and include follow-up care with every fitting. For many patients in Crawford County and Kansas City, that ongoing support matters as much as the device itself.
Prescription vs. OTC: Common Questions
Straight answers about over-the-counter versus prescription hearing aids in Pittsburg, who each one is built for, and why a hearing test is a smart first step either way.
OTC hearing aids are self-fitted. You buy them without a hearing test and adjust them yourself, usually through an app, within a preset range meant for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. There's no professional programming and no one checking whether the settings match your ears.
Prescription hearing aids are selected and programmed by an audiologist using your hearing test results. They cover mild to profound hearing loss, come in custom-fit styles, and include follow-up visits for adjustments as you get used to them. If testing shows more than a mild loss, or a different loss in each ear, prescription devices are usually the better fit.
The FDA's OTC category covers adults 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. The key word is perceived: it's based on how you think you hear, not on a test. Many adults who assume their hearing loss is mild learn during testing that it's more significant, different between ears, or linked to a medical issue.
OTC devices aren't intended for children, sudden or quickly worsening hearing loss, hearing loss in only one ear, ear pain or drainage, or severe hearing loss. A hearing evaluation is the most reliable way to know where you stand. Call (620) 235-5015 to schedule one in Pittsburg or Fort Scott.
For OTC devices, it isn't required. It's still a good idea. A diagnostic hearing evaluation shows the type, degree, and configuration of your hearing loss in each ear, and how well you understand speech. Without that information, choosing a hearing aid is mostly guesswork.
Testing can also point to problems that hearing aids won't help, such as earwax blocking the ear canal, a middle ear issue, or a sudden change in hearing that needs prompt medical attention. When that happens, Dr. Press works with physicians and ENT providers so you get the right care. Call (816) 361-2300 in Kansas City or (620) 235-5015 in Southeast Kansas.
Yes. If your test shows a mild hearing loss that's similar in both ears and an OTC device seems like a reasonable place to start, Dr. Press will tell you and explain what to expect from one. The goal of the visit is to understand your hearing, and buying something isn't a requirement.
If prescription hearing aids would serve you better, you'll hear why in plain terms: programming based on your measured hearing, a fit matched to your ears, and follow-up care included as you adjust. Either way, you leave knowing your results and your options. Call (620) 235-5015 to book.
Take 45 Days to Find Your Fit
Every pair of hearing aids fitted at Comprehensive Hearing Solutions comes with a 45-day trial. Adjusting to new hearing takes time, so wear them where your life happens: at work, at the dinner table, and out around Pittsburg, Fort Scott, or Kansas City. Follow-up visits with your audiologist are included, and if they aren't right, we will adjust them, try another model, or take them back.
Hearing Care Close to Home, From Pittsburg to Kansas City
Every visit is with Dr. Jordan Press, Au.D., and every recommendation starts with a thorough hearing evaluation.
Serving Southeast Kansas & Kansas City
Three Offices, Two States
Dr. Jordan Press, Au.D., sees patients at offices in Pittsburg, Fort Scott, and Kansas City. Choose the one closest to you on the map.
- Southeast Kansas: (620) 235-5015
- Kansas City: (816) 361-2300
- jpress.aud@outlook.com
- Fax: (620) 240-9089
- A Doctor of Audiology at every visit
- Practicing audiology since 2017
- Phonak, Oticon & Widex hearing aids
“Incredibly patient… thoroughly explaining my hearing loss.”— Google review, Pittsburg office
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