Dive Brief:
- Lucid Hearing has joined the wave of companies that are entering the over-the-counter hearing aid market.
- On Monday, when the ruling allowing OTC sales took effect, Lucid introduced products at both ends of the price spectrum. The company’s prices range from $200 to $1,700.
- Lucid joins Sony and Bose-partnered Lexie Hearing on the market. Sony and Lexie are both charging about $1,000 for their OTC hearing aids.
Dive Insight:
Lucid’s online shop features seven hearing aids at different price points. The least expensive is a behind-the-ear hearing aid that has three programmed settings and uses replaceable batteries. At the other end of the range, the company has an in-ear device with app-controlled customizable sound settings and a rechargeable battery. The battery lasts for as long as 16 hours.
“Our technology for these devices has been in the making for years and is based on research done in conjunction with the University of Texas at Dallas, a top audiology research university,” Jason Kidd, Lucid’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.
The products, which are available through retailers including Sam's Club, are going up against multiple other newly launched OTC hearing aids. Lexie and Sony shared details of their hearing aids last week and the White House published a roundup of retail prices to coincide with the start of OTC sales.
According to the White House, U.S. retailers including Best Buy, CVS, Hy-Vee, Walgreens and Walmart are either already selling, or set to start selling, a range of OTC hearing aids. The devices range in price from $200 to $3,000, with multiple retailers competing at the bottom end of the range and Best Buy offering the most expensive devices.
