Discussions around access to affordable hearing care and hearing aids are not a new topic within the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH). In response to our members requests, we have issued the Essen Declaration 2015.
Since Essen Declaration we have seen some progress, but not enough improvement in access to hearing aids and hearing technologies despite the overwhelming evidence of significant return of investment when integrating hearing health care into universal healthcare strategies.
The arrival of the new category of the Other the Counter – Hearing Aids (OTC-HA) in the United States, which is expected at the end of 2022, is therefore a worrying development for the EFHOH members as it could inspire European Health Ministers to stop including hearing aids and hearing care into national health strategies planning.
For this and other specific reasons, outlined in our statement, the EFHOH Board urges European Member States and healthcare policy makers to take positive action and follow calls of Essen Declaration 2015 and London Declaration 2017 from hard of hearing associations in Europe.
To read EFHOH full statement, please click here.
You may also want to read EFHOH comment with safety concerns on FDA OTC-HA proposals