美国国家公共电台 NPR--Americans will soon be able to buy hearing aids without a prescription

Americans will soon be able to buy hearing aids without a prescription¹

Transcript²

Under new FDA rules, people with mild or moderate hearing loss will be able to buy hearing aids over the counter without a prescription as soon as mid-October.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Hearing aids will soon become easier to buy and maybe even less expensive for millions of people with mild to moderate hearing loss. That's because the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for over-the-counter and online sales. NPR's Maria Godoy reports.

MARIA GODOY, BYLINE³: Up until now, hearing aids have been regulated as prescription medical devices. And for the more than 40 million Americans with hearing loss, that means they needed a medical exam or other specialty⁴ evaluation⁵ before purchasing.

XAVIER BECERRA: That requirement for many people is inconvenient⁶. It discourages them from seeking help.

GODOY: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says those regulations have also discouraged competition among hearing aid manufacturers, helping⁷ to keep prices very high.

BECERRA: Hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars to prepare, and they're not always covered by insurance.

GODOY: But Becerra says help is on the way. New FDA rules create a class of over-the-counter hearing aids for adults that can be sold in retail⁸ stores and online without a prescription or special fittings. Brian Deese of the National Economic Council says the goal is to make it easier for more manufacturers to enter the market and encourage competition.

BRIAN DEESE: We expect that that competition will drive down costs. In fact, the FDA estimates this rule will save consumers on the order of about $1,400 per individual hearing aid or over $2,800 per pair.

GODOY: But ultimately, advocates say the new rule change isn't just about business innovation. Dr. Frank Lin is a professor of otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He says research shows hearing loss can have profound impacts on health because it often leads to social isolation⁹ and a lack of auditory stimuli¹⁰ that can change the brain.

FRANK LIN: Hearing loss is arguably the dominant¹¹ risk factor for dementia.

GODOY: But it's a risk factor that may potentially be lessened¹² by a good hearing aid.

Maria Godoy, NPR News.

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1 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

5 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

6 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

9 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

10 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

11 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

12 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。